American Whiskey
The spirit of
America
American whiskey shoppers are exploring the category and trading up more than ever, offering a substantial opportunity for the retail market.
One of the things that is helping drive this is the ‘softening’ of barriers in the whiskey channel, according to Scott Fitzsimons, Whisk(e)y and Spirits Educator at The Oak Barrel in Sydney. “You’ve got bourbon drinkers and you’ve got Scotch drinkers and never the two shall meet. But there’s been a few brands that have started softening those hard battle lines,” Fitzsimons told National Liquor News. “A big part of that softening is some of the importers and wholesalers actually working with us, so we can build the category as well… going back five or six
For international whisk(e)y producers, Australia is a key export market. Suppliers
years, we didn’t really get access to a huge amount of
the world over recognise the opportunity that our local consumers provide, for big
the stuff we wanted. We’re now getting access and it’s
brands and smaller craft brands alike.
growing. It’s helped some of the importers break out
One of these regions of whiskey that is doing well at the moment in Australia is the US. According to IRI, the American whiskey category is ranked number three
of that very one lane urban American whiskey thing to open it up to a new audience.”
of all glass spirit categories, a ranking it has maintained over the last three years. Thomas Mooney, Co-founder and CEO of Westward Whiskey from Oregon,
The curious shopper
said: “Australia is one of the best markets for North American whiskey, in part
The American whiskey category is currently benefitting
because it’s one of the best markets in the world for high quality whiskey of any kind.
from the exploratory nature of Australian shoppers,
“For Westward, it was our first export market. It was and continues to be our
which has been boosted by the increased amount of
largest export market by a pretty wide margin. In the first six months of this year,
consumers trying new drinks experiences in the home
Australia has contributed about 20 per cent of the total brands volume. So it’s a
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
market that we love in every possible way.”
“I think of Australian consumers as curious
It’s a similar story across the market, as some of the biggest distributors in the
explorers… More than any country we do business in,
space including Brown-Forman, Campari Australia and SouthTrade International
including our home in the US, we find that consumers
have all noted continued value and volume growth.
are open-minded and knowledgeable and really eager
40 | National Liquor News