Recognised as the most complete list of million-case spirits and liqueurs brands in the industry, The Millionaires Club 2016 revealed soju brand Jinro to be the largest brand by volume in 2015, ahead of Officer's Choice whisky - the largest whisky in the world.
Diageo's McDowell's remains the leader of rum, while Smirnoff maintained its vodka dominance.
Hamish Smith, editor of The Millionaires Club 2016, said: “Members of the Millionaires’ Club are looking a little happier. For a good number of them 2015 was a year of recovery after a miserable 2014,when less than a third of the world’s million-case brands were in growth. Membership is up this year to 171 – two more than last year – and, of that number, 83 were in growth, 22 flat and 66 in decline.
"The recovery is mixed. Some of the growth has come from economy brands, some from the premium end, which seems in partial recovery rather than complete redemption. Essentially, the worm has turned, but isn’t exactly looking sprightly. That’s not surprising – the world remains a volatile place. The list of beleaguered states runs to Brazil, Venezuela, Russia – and Europe isn’t exactly burning brightly.
"In some categories, particularly vodka and scotch, there is a consumer move to less premium brands, in a trend we might mischievously refer to as ‘de-premiumisation’. This underlines the view that at times of localised hardship, selling cheaper spirits in large volumes is better than not selling at all. Here in the Millionaires’ Club, we give you those brands that excelled at the volume game – they are the largest spirits in the world.”
