The popularity of the ready-to-drink category is clear for all to see in our list of the fastest-growing brands, but Indian spirits are the ones to watch.

There has been much said about the rapid rise of the ready-to-drink (RTD) sector – particularly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. If the category’s true popularity were ever in doubt, look to the top three spots in the fastest-growing million-case-selling brands last year, all of which went to RTDs.

However, Indian spirits have continued to dominate much of our report, with four brands from the country headlining our list.

Last year also saw a monumental return to growth of a few spirits that suffered sale slumps during the pandemic, suggesting that ‘normality’ may well have returned for good.

To read the full Brand Champions report 2023, click here.

10. Morpheus Brandy

2022: 1.1m

2021: 0.8m

% change: 45.5%

Radico Khaitan-owned Morpheus brand saw a growth spurt in 2022, making it both a newcomer to the Brand Champions report and one of the fastest-growing spirits of the year.

This premium aged brandy is named after Morpheus, the winged Greek God of Dreams, and boasts 10 years of master craftsmanship in India.

9. Chrome Vodka

2022: 1.9m

2021: 1.3m

% change: 45.8%

First launched in 2014 by Kenya Breweries, Diageo-owned Chrome Vodka is said to have been created for young, modern Kenyans looking for a great value brand that they can identify with.

It recorded a healthy sales leap of 45.8% in 2022, and it is described as the ‘most-loved’ spirit brand in Kenya.

8. Eristoff

2022: 2.1m

2021: 1.4m

% change: 46.1%

After recording a significant dip in sales during the pandemic, Bacardi-owned Eristoff vodka has made an impressive comeback, almost doubling its 2020 sales figures, and seeing a 46.1% leap from 2021.

7. Black Dog

2022: 1.1m

2021: 0.7m

% change: 51.4%

United Spirits-owned Scotch whisky brand Black Dog is another newcomer to the Brand Champions report, surpassing the 1-million case sales target for the first time in 2022.

The blended whiskies saw a 51.4% rise over the course of the year.

6. Antiquity Whisky

2022: 1.1m

2021: 0.7m

% change: 51.4%

Indian whiskies have come to be known as solid performers in The Brand Champions report– and this year two brands sit among the fastest-growers, the first of which is United Spirits-owned Antiquity Whisky, up by 51.4% last year.

The brand was first launched in 2002, and currently its portfolio boasts two expressions: Antiquity Blue and Antiquity Rare.

5. Royal Challenge

2022: 7.2m

2021: 4.7m

% change: 52.5%

Another Indian whisky that saw huge gains in 2022 is Antiquity’s stablemate Royal Challenge.

This grain-flavoured whisky, made with a blend of Scotch and Indian malts, grew by 52.5% to reach the 7.2 million case sales mark, making it the fastest-growing Indian whisky in our list.

4. Mansion House

2022: 7.1m

2021: 4.5m

% change: 59.8%

Last year, Mansion House was the biggest-selling brand on the category’s Brand Champions list, despite the company experiencing a drop in volume, falling by 6% in 2021 after a decrease in 2020.

However 2022 has seen a return to form for the Indian brand, with sales soaring to 7.1 million cases, a 59.8% jump on the previous year’s results. This may have been boosted by its first foray into the premium flavoured brandy sector last summer, with the brand debuting three new flavours: Orange, Cherry, and Peach.

3. High Noon

2022: 8.8m

2021: 17.2m

% change: 94.7%

E&J Gallo’s High Noon, the third-fastest-growing brand in this year’s report, is arguably more impressive than the two brands still to come, as the RTD label nearly doubled its case sales from a high starting point of 8.8m to 17.2m in 2022 – an increase of 94.7%.

High Noon credits its monumental growth to “building upon the success of the previous years by listening to our consumer”, as well as being present in the “places that matter” to its audience.

2. Malibu RTDs

2022: 1m

2021: 0.5m

% change: 96.9%

Second place goes to Malibu RTDs, which almost doubled its sales last year, with 96.6% growth to reach 1.0m cases – another newcomer in The Brand Champions report.

In autumn 2022, owner Pernod Ricard confirmed it would invest more into its RTD portfolio, having recorded ‘very strong’ double-digit growth in that segment, with ‘rapid development’ in the US.

UK commercial director Ian Peart confirmed the majority of its RTDs are sold in the off-trade, and that the sector has become “extremely dynamic and scalable”.

1. The Finnish Long Drink

2022: 1.1m

2021: 0.5m

% change: 114.2%

Taking pole position is The Finnish Long Drink, co-owned by American actor Miles Teller since 2019.

Brand owner The Long Drink Company secured US$25 million to boost distribution and scale production in 2021 – and its efforts appear to be paying off nicely. Finnish Long Drink more than doubled its case sales in 2022 to join the Brand Champions club for the first time.

The 114.2% growth last year resulted in 1.1m case sales.