Michter’s, which was declared the bestseller in a quarter of the poll, has now made it a hat trick of titles having slowly climbed the ranking since breaking through in 2016. Michter’s has also been declared The World’s Most Admired Whiskey brand for the past three years, demonstrating the brand’s popularity with both bartenders and whiskey experts.
Volume is an important factor when it comes to satisfying the world’s best bars given the popularity of the Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, Boulevardier, Sazerac and Manhattan. That’s why seven of the top 10 bestselling brands are also million-case whiskeys, highlighting the relationship between consistent supply, strong distribution networks and top bars. In terms of style, it’s clear that Kentucky straight bourbon remains the dominant style of American whiskey, with only Jack Daniel’s representing a different region.
How we did it
The Brands Report has been released every January for the past 16 years and aims to provide data analytics into the buying habits of consumers in the world’s best bars.
To collect the data, we first curate a sample of industry-acclaimed bars from a combination of The World’s 50 Best Bars and its regional North America and Asia lists.
In order to ensure the best global coverage, about 5% of the poll were ‘editor’s picks’ – highly rated bars in regions less represented to assure a truly global data pool reflective of the current bar industry. Each year the panel rotates to ensure a fair and accurate set of results.
As part of the survey, we ask each bar owner or head bartender to dig out their sales spreadsheets and rank the three bestselling products in each spirits category, as well as beer, champagne and mixers. The bestselling list is based on hard data, while top trending is more subjective – the brand which isn’t necessarily shifting big volumes but is seen as in vogue by each bar. Often, the brands that figure highly in the trending list move on to the bestselling list the following year, as curiosity and excitement transition to weight of sales.
We also ask our poll to declare the house pour in some of the world’s bestselling classic cocktails. The drinks are chosen to specifically represent major spirits categories and are generally big hitters in the Cocktail Report’s list of the 50 bestselling classic cocktails, due to launch in spring.
To view the page-turner edition of the Brands Report click here.
The Brands Report will be serialised on drinksint.com throughout January.
