There’s been a small but significant win for Ireland over in the US as our uisce beatha out sold single malt Scotch during 2011.
The US Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) recently released their reports on spirits sales for 2011 and the results show that Irish whiskey sales rose by 24 per cent. In total 1.7 million nine-litre cases of Irish whiskey were sold while only 1.4 million cases of single malt Scotch left the shelves in 2011 – now that’s some hangover.
Just-Drinks, a leading US authority on all things drink related, said that the Irish whiskey brand Jameson “is helping to bolster the upward growth of sales”, reports Irish Central.
“Irish whiskey is enjoying a renaissance at the moment. The bigger companies have come in with enough commercial muscle to expand production, sales and grow the brands,” said Kieran Tobin, chairman of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland.
The younger generations are also discovering the “smooth and sweet texture” of Irish whiskey mainly through influences such as rap artists who increasingly mention Irish brands such as Jameson in their music.
So all that’s left to ask is what do you, the Irish people, think is better: Irish whiskey or single malt Scotch? Do we even need to ask?
