Jack Daniel’s leads whiskies category as top three unchanged

The most likely cause of this lack of growth was a combination of lockdowns and rising inflation but despite this Jack Daniel’s, Famous Grouse and Bells have retained first, second and third place on The Drinks List - top brands to stock in 2022​.

Jack Daniel’s saw a 33.1% drop in sales of 9-litre cases, which were down from 139,775 last year to 93,537 this year, and a 31.5% drop in value while its Tennessee Whiskey Honey Liqueur counterpart saw sales and value fall by 28.8% and 27.7%, respectively.

Number 2 on the list, Famous Grouse, saw the biggest drop in sales of 9-litre cases, 48%, (down from 79,296 last year to 41,204 this year) and a drop in value of 45.3% (down from £73.7m last year to £40.3m this year).

Monkey Shoulder joins list

Monkey Shoulder, which came in at number 10, saw sales of 9-litre cases down from 6,098 last year to 4,863 this year and a drop in value of 20.9%, although this was the lowest drop in sales on the list.

Bell’s, which came in at number 3, saw a 39.5% drop in sales of 9-litre cases, down from 51,161 last year to 30,937 this year, and a drop in value of £18.4m to £30m (38%), followed by Jameson, which saw a drop in volume of 34.5% and a drop in value of 32.7%.

Johnnie Walker Black Label 12-year-old saw sales of 9-litre cases fall from 17,749 to 11,995 (32.6%) while its value fell by 32.7% from £24.8m to £16.7m and its Red Label whiskey saw sales drop from 8,4149lc to 5,7119lc  (32.1%) and value fall from £11.7m to £8.3m (29.5%).

Whyte and Mackay saw a drop in volume of 43.8%, the second biggest drop on this year’s Drinks List, with sales of 9-litre cases falling from 13,571 to 7,626, with a drop in value from £9m to £5m (45%), and Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon its volume sales drop by 35.6% and its value fall by 35%, from £11.8m to £7.7m.

• All data provided by CGA for the 12 months to 9 October 2021​​