US continues to dominate Irish whiskey exports

The USA remains the biggest market for Irish Whiskey, with over 5.47m cases recorded in this market in 2024, representing one of every three bottles of Irish Whiskey sold in the world. Picture: Aidan Crawley/Bloomberg

A record 16.15m cases of Irish Whiskey were sold last year, with the US continuing to dominate exports.

The Irish Whiskey Global Trade Report from the Irish Whiskey Association shows the top five international markets were the USA, Poland, Germany, India and the United Kingdom.

Total case sales were just over 5.47m cases sold in the USA, 718,770 in Poland, 715,000 in Germany, 700,100 cases in India and 698,000 cases sold in the UK.

A case of Irish Whiskey usually contains 9 litres, generally 12 bottles of 75cl. The domestic market recorded 707,000 case sales last year, putting Ireland in the fourth-largest market overall for the premium Irish spirit.

Director of the Irish Whiskey Association, Eoin Ó Catháin, said: “Despite challenges, there is still a significant opportunity for the Irish whiskey category to grow, given it only accounts for 12% of the global whiskey market.” Despite the 15% import tariff on Irish Whiskey and EU imports, the USA is the most valuable market for spirits in the world.

The USA remains the biggest market for Irish Whiskey, with over 5.47m cases recorded in this market in 2024, representing one of every three bottles of Irish Whiskey sold in the world.

The Irish Whiskey Association notes that the full impact of the tariffs on spirits in the USA is not known yet. The Association reiterates its call to prioritise a return to the zero-for-zero trading arrangement with the USA.

Irish Whiskey is rapidly growing in popularity in other markets. As documented in the Global Trade Report, significant growth has been noted in key emerging markets such as Japan and India, which were up 124% and 120% respectively over the past three years.

The Irish Whiskey category has also had increased success throughout the European Union. Of the top 20 markets for Irish Whiskey sales, 10 are EU Member States.

Looking towards next year, the Irish Whiskey Association notes the importance of the EU-US trading relationship and market diversification.

“The Association’s priorities for 2026 will therefore include advocating for the finalisation and swift implementation of relevant trade agreements, including an EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), considering that India is the world’s biggest whiskey market and represents a significant growth opportunity for Irish Whiskey,” concluded Mr Ó Catháin.