The 25 Best-Selling Whisky Brands In The World
I recently was trying to find a list of the best-selling whiskies in the world by volume, and to my surprise, I was having trouble. Sure, there’s lists of the best-selling Scotch whiskies and bourbons, for example. However, I couldn’t find a list that put global sales for all whisky brands together.
So I figured I would solve that problem and do it myself, with help from information that I received from drinks market analysts IWSR, The Spirits Business, and a few other sources where necessary.
Looking at the list, I’m willing to bet that you’ll be surprised to see so many brands you’ve never heard of near the top, or that a small group of companies control so many different bestselling brands.
Some things to bear in mind. These rankings reflect sales by volume, not by value. The sales figures here are also as up to date as possible, reflecting overall sales for 2017. The number I’ve included below is the number of sales by thousands of 9-liter cases, which is the standard industry sales metric. So for example, sales of ‘1,000’ mean 1 million cases were sold, totaling 9 million liters.
So here’s the best-sellers:
- Officer’s Choice
Country: India
Owner: Allied Blenders and Distillers
Sales: 31,510.1
- McDowell’s
Country: India
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 26,338.2
- Imperial Blue
Country: India
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Sales: 18,847.7
- Royal Stag Whisky
Country: India
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Sales: 18,700
- Johnnie Walker
Country: Scotland
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 18,300
- Jack Daniel’s Whiskey
Country: USA
Owner: Brown Forman Corporation
Sales: 12,900
- Original Choice
Country: India
Owner: John Distilleries Pvt Ltd
Sales: 10,300
- Hayward’s Fine
Country: India
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 8,900
- Jim Beam
Country: USA
Owner: Beam Suntory
Sales: 8,900 (includes sales of flavored whiskey)
- Old Tavern
Country: India
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 7,400
- 8 PM Whisky
Country: India
Owner: Radico Khaitan
Sales: 7,000
- Crown Royal
Country: Canada
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 7,000 (includes sales of flavored whisky)
- Grand Royal Myanmar Whisky
Country: Myanmar
Owner: Thai Beverage
Sales: 7,000 (estimate based on the Thai Bev annual report)
- Ballantine’s
Country: Scotland
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Sales: 6,900
- Jameson’s
Country: Ireland
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Sales: 6,900
- Blender’s Pride
Country: India
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Sales: 6,400
- Bagpiper
Country: India
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 6,000
- Fireball Cinnamon Shot
Country: Canada
Owner: Sazerac
Sales: 4,900 (U.S. sales alone, I couldn’t find global sales)
- Royal Challenge
Country: India
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 4,500
- Grant’s
Country: Scotland
Owner: William Grant & Sons
Sales: 4,500
- Director’s Special
Country: India
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 4,200
- Chivas Regal
Country: Scotland
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Sales: 4,200
- Bangalore Malt Whisky
Country: India
Owner: John Distilleries Pvt Ltd
Sales: 3,500
- Suntory Whisky
Country: Japan
Owner: Beam Suntory
Sales: 3,400
- J&B
Country: Scotland
Owner: Diageo
Sales: 3,400
