Bushmills sales pass 1m cases for first time

Proximo Spirits-owned Bushmills Irish whiskey has broken the million-case sales mark for the first time.

The Irish whiskey brand reported a 9.7% rise in volume sales in 2022 to reach 1.0 million nine-litre cases for the first time, up from 0.9m in 2021, The Brand Champions 2023 data revealed.

The growth marks the first time Bushmills has featured in The Brand Champions, an annual report into the world’s biggest-selling spirits.

Earlier this year, Bushmills opened its £37m (US$46m) Causeway Distillery, which more than doubled its production capacity.

Colum Egan, Bushmills master distillery, said at the time: “We are obsessed with exceptional whiskeys – the ingredients, the processes, the wood, the ageing.

“Our second distillery represents a great step forward in ensuring generations to come will enjoy our renowned signature triple-distilled single malts alongside the innovations of the future.”

New Brand Champions entries

Bushmills was not the only new brand to join The Brand Champions for the first time this year.

Belaya Beriozka, a vodka brand owned by Alcohol Siberian Group, also passed the million-case threshold after delivering 43.5% growth last year, which took its case sales to 1.3m cases.

United Spirits also had two brands pass the million-case mark for the first time: Indian brand Antiquity Whisky, whose sales rose by 51.4% last year to 1.1m cases; and Black Dog Scotch whisky, which also experienced 51.4% growth to 1.1m cases.

Radico Khaitan’s Morpheus Brandy saw strong double-digit growth of 45.5%, which took the brand from 0.8m cases in 2021 to 1.1m last year.

Bacardi-owned Cazadores Tequila also experienced a 32.5% increase last year, which boosted sales from 0.8m in 2021 to 1.0m in 2022.

The Brand Champions 2023 report is now available to read online.

For an in-depth interview with Bushmills’ master distiller Egan and master blender Alex Thomas, see the June 2023 issue of The Spirits Business, out now.