Once again, the No. 1 distilled spirit brand in the world is one that most American’s have never heard of. It’s so large and so dominate that it exceeds the totals of the No. 2 and No. 3 brands combined.

This year’s IWSR Top 100 list brings into focus the defining role that emerging markets play in shaping the global spirits industry. The drinking population in India, Brazil and South East Asia, in particular, is growing each year. This keeps Indian whiskies, cachaça and soju/shochu brands in high positions on the list; population growth and wider distribution also help international brands to reach new consumers.

The Top 5 Most Populated Nations

1. China – 1.37 billion
2. India – 1.2 billion
3. US – 323 million
4. Indonesia – 256 million
5. Brazil – 204 million

To help put this in perspective, here’s a global population map with the countries resized based on each nation’s current population. Click the map to enlarge.

South Korean Soju No. 1, Again

Selling well over 65m nine-litre cases in 2016, the South Korean soju brand Jinro once again becomes the world’s most popular alcoholic drink, maintaining the number one spot that it has held for many years. To put Jinro’s volumes into context, it sold more in 2016 than the brands in second and third place – ABD’s Officer’s Choice whisky (32.3m cases) and Thai Beverages’ Ruang Kao (31.2m cases) – put together. The Jinro brand makes up 2% of the global spirits market on its own; its sales of 65.9m cases come to considerably more than the total of the spirits markets of the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Spain, Poland, Italy or travel retail to name a handful.

Owned by Hite-Jinro, Jinro’s phenomenal success owes to several factors. It has been by far the most visible brand of soju, South Korea’s national drink, in Seoul and the surrounding districts for decades. Changes in competition laws in recent years have allowed the brand to move into other parts of the country, whose LDA population is rising sharply each year. A favourite at mealtimes, soju’s low ABV (24%) makes it suitable for a range of other occasions as well – while efforts are being made to invigorate the category’s image in the on-trade.

Officer’s Choice Whisky and Ruang Kao, No. 2 and No. 3

The world’s second and third most-consumed spirits brands are Indian whisky Officer’s Choice and the Thai cane spirit Ruang Kao. Although both declined in 2016, they remain the largest brands in their home markets by huge margins. The decline of Officer’s Choice was the result of a difficult year for the Indian spirits market in general, notably the move to turn the north-eastern region of Bihar into a dry state. The demonetisation of the INR500 and INR1,000 notes also heavily restricted alcohol sales in the last three months of the year.

The markets for soju in South Korea, local whisky in India and cane spirits in Thailand are so vast that even the brands trailing far behind Jinro, Officer’s Choice and Ruang Kao sit comfortably within the global top 10. The soju brands Chum Churum (owned by Lotte, 26.2m cases) and Good Day (Muhak, 19.1m) rank fifth and ninth respectively, while the Indian whiskies McDowell’s (Diageo, 25.6m) and Imperial Blue (Pernod Ricard, 18m) are at number six and 10. Number eight on the list is Thai Beverages’ Hong Tong Liquor (20.7m cases).

If the top 10 is dominated by giant domestic Asian brands, the international bestsellers are not far behind. Iconic drinks such as Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky (11), Bacardi rum (13) and Jack Daniel’s whiskey (16) do not completely rule their home markets as they face more competition from other international spirits brands – but their global reach ensures that they are still available to hundreds of millions of potential consumers, and generally at affordable price points.

The Top 10 of the Top 100

Credits: Distillery Trail

Read more at source Distillery Trail