Vision for Irish Whiskey 2015

The Irish whiskey sector is ambitious for its future. Having been distilled in Ireland since the 6th century, Irish whiskey is one of the oldest spirit drinks in Europe. It is a premium product that can only be made on the island of Ireland.

The existing players have driven the global renaissance in Irish whiskey and now it is the fastest growing spirits category in the world.  In the last decade, the category grew by almost 200%. In 2014, more than 6.7 million 9-litre cases of Irish whiskey were exported to over 100 countries around the world.

This figure is set to exceed 12 million cases by 2020 and 24 million cases by 2030. Three years ago, the island of Ireland had four distilleries in operation – in the next three years that number will grow to over 15 if all the current projects move forward.

This document was published in May 2015 and represented the Irish Whiskey Association’s first strategy for the sustainable growth of the Irish whiskey sector.