The Allied Blenders & Distillers’ brand grew 27% last year to become the first 30 million-case whisky brand, finishing on 30.2 million 9-litre cases. It is the third largest spirits brand in the world, behind Jinro soju and Emperador brandy.
Officer’s Choice’s acceleration took it five million cases ahead of United Spirits’ McDowell’s No.1 whisky, which grew 6% to reach its own milestone, 25m cases.
Johnnie Walker, the whisky category leader by volume in 2011, now has less than 60% of the leader’s volume sales. It dropped 11% in 2014 to 17.9m cases.
For the full ranking and analysis of the whisky category in 2014, the Millionaires’ Club 2015 launches as a supplement to Drinks International in July.
