The biggest-selling speciality spirits Brand Champions
Strong-performing speciality spirits from the year prior kept up the momentum in 2024 with Italy’s two big bitter brands leading the way.
It’s all change at the top in this year’s speciality spirits compilation. There’s a new biggest-selling speciality spirit in town – but which brand as taken pole position, and which has been knocked off its perch?
As cocktails such as the Spritz continue to find favour with consumers, speciality spirits have subsequently also found themselves moving to the front of drinks cabinets around the world.
However, the sector has also had to contend with the global headwinds facing the rest of the industry, meaning there has been some movement across the board.
Below, we outline the biggest speciality spirits from The Brand Champions 2025 report, which is available to read online in full for free.
The data is listed to one decimal place for ease of reading, but the percentage changes were calculated on the full data supplied. All data is recorded in millions of nine-litre cases.
7. Ramazzotti
Volumes: 2020 1.1 | 2021 1.3 | 2022 1.5 | 2023 1.2 | 2024 1.2
% change: -4%
Place last year: 7
Ramazzotti, the Italian bitter from Pernod Ricard and one of the country’s oldest producers of amaro, saw a decline for the second year on the trot.
At 4% and at 500,000 cases, the drop wasn’t as sharp as last year, when it fell by 15.1%. The brand is moving more than a million cases, but it still feels like the third wheel to its Pernod stablemates below, and its Italian peers in Aperol and Campari. Without a significant boost, it also risks slipping below the million-case threshold.
6. Lillet
Volumes: 2020 0.9 | 2021 1.0 | 2022 1.3 | 2023 1.2 | 2024 1.3
% change: 5%
Place last year: 8
Maison Lillet’s ongoing collaboration with Emily in Paris seems to have paid off, with the brand recording solid growth of 5% last year. Turns out that partnering with one of Netflix’s biggest shows was a shrewd move.
It’s kept the momentum going recently too, introducing a new ‘chic’ label across its entire range with design agency Nude Brand Creation, which combines the brand’s heritage – it’s been produced in south of Bordeaux since 1872 – with modern flair.
5. Ricard
Volumes: 2020 4.1 | 2021 4.3 | 2022 4.6 | 2023 4.2 | 2024 4.2
% change: 0.0%
Place last year: 5
The sole anise in The Brand Champions report, matched its figure from last year. Whether that is a good thing or not is up for debate, as it didn’t move at all, but there was no decline at least unlike in 2024. The brand can also draw positives from the fact that it’s performing better than it did in 2020, five years ago.
4. Campari
Volumes: 2020 3.1 | 2021 3.9 | 2022 4.5 | 2023 4.6 | 2024 4.8
% change: 5.5%
Place last year: 4
If it wasn’t for Aperol, Campari’s year-on-year growth would likely garner more plaudits, but it’s been honest work for Campari Group-owned brand over the years, and it’s now in touching distance of the five-million-case mark.
And Campari’s work is evidently not done. The apéritif was an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival again in May this year and is lined up for next year, too. It should at least be able to count on a few new fans who are also fans of Mads Mikkelsen. The brand was featured in an advert with the Danish actor, who was seen playing bartender and making a twist on a Negroni with the spirit.
3. Jägermeister
Volumes: 2020 7.0 | 2021 8.7 | 2022 9.4 | 2023 9.2 | 2024 8.5
% change: -7.7%
Place last year: 3
‘Uh-oh’ might have been understandable reaction at Mast-Jägermeister HQ considering its bitter brand Jägermeister’s sales drop last year. The German brand dropped down to 8.5m cases – below 9m for the first time since 2021.
Mast-Jägermeister has been working to rectify the result this year, though, believing orange to be the colour to steer the brand back on course with the release of a new flavour, Jägermeister Orange, to target younger consumers. In addition, news of a production expansion at its headquarters in Wolfenbüttel, Germany, shows a confidence (and a trust) that better days lie ahead. Plus, it still remains way above its 2020 volume sales.
2. Martini Vermouth
Volumes: 2020 8.6 | 2021 9.6 | 2022 9.9 | 2023 9.6 | 2024 9.2
% change: -4.3%
Place last year: 1
The slide was a little longer than Bacardi had perhaps expected after another year in the decline for Martini Vermouth. Now sitting at 9.2m cases, the vermouth brand, once on the cusp of 10m, was usurped by Aperol for the top spot in this year’s rankings as the duo battle for Spritz supremacy.
The brand is now putting all of its focus on the beginning of a new ‘contemporary era’, as it looks to bridge the gap with its rival below, and perhaps most importantly, return to positive growth.
1. Aperol
Volumes: 2020 5.4 | 2021 7.1 | 2022 8.8 | 2023 9.6 | 2024 9.9
% change: 2.6%
Place last year: 2
The tour de force that is Aperol hit plenty of high notes last year. It knocked Martini Vermouth off its perch, securing its place as the world’s biggest-selling speciality spirit in The Brand Champions report, and at 9.9m cases moved, also now has its sights firmly set on breaching the 10m barrier.
The rise of the Spritz has been well-documented and Aperol has taken full advantage, now positioning it as a winter drink (and a serve for all seasons) at après ski activities in both the US and Europe. Furthermore, where there’s a big cultural event, there’s Aperol – whether that be at the US Open tennis or music festival EDC in Thailand.
It’s also the latest brand to join the ready-to-serve (RTS) movement by launching a single-serve format in the UK. All things considered, it looks poised for another successful year ahead.
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