Johnnie Walker, Jim Beam Lead World’s Best-Selling Whisky Brands

Despite a 2.7% decline in sales during 2023, Diageo’s Johnnie Walker brand continued to lead by a wide margin among Scotch Whisky brands, according to the new Spirits Business Brand Champions report. With 22.1 million 9-liter cases sold worldwide, Johnnie Walker outpaced its nearest competitor, Ballantine’s, by nearly a 3-to-1 ratio. Chivas Regal, Grant’s, and Bacardi’s William Lawson blend round out the top five best-selling Scotch brands, while Glenfiddich continues to lead the single malt Scotch category with a 6.2% increase in sales to 1.7 million cases. The figures show the continued strength of blended Scotches compared to single malts.

Jim Beam continues to remain the best-selling Bourbon and “world whisky” brand, with 17 million cases sold during 2023. Suntory’s Kakubin Japanese whisky dominated the domestic Japanese market with 15.8 million cases sold, and Jack Daniel’s came in third with 14 million cases sold. Jameson sales dipped by 7.9%, but remained above the 10 million case mark with 10.2 million cases sold during 2023.

Crown Royal remains the best-selling Canadian whisky despite an 8.4% decline in sales during 2023, with 7.7 million cases sold during the year. Canadian Club also saw a 4% decline in sales, but remained second with six million cases sold, while Heaven Hill’s Black Velvet came in third at 1.6 million cases.

These reports are dwarfed, though, by the performance of McDowell’s Whisky, the top-selling Indian whisky brand. Largely sold in the domestic Indian market, this molasses-based whisky brand sold 31.4 million cases, up 2.1 percent from 2022. In fact, the top four Indian brands all sold more than Johnnie Walker did on a global basis.

The complete report is available here.