The overall U.S. spirits market grew by 3% in the first four months of 2014, mostly on an increase in sales of ‘brown spirits’ – flavored whiskies, rye, small batch whiskey, and Irish and single malt scotch. Whiskey sales grew 6.2% in the U.S. in 2013 – 45% of that growth is attributed to flavored whiskies. Flavorization is being employed by many producers in the whiskey sector such as Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, Jim Beam Red Stag, Wild Turkey American Honey and Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. But other companies are reluctant to employ flavors as they fear it would devalue their brand and the industry as a whole. Rabobank expects the U.S. spirits market to continue to see moderate growth however the super-premium sector, especially pot-stilled Irish whiskey is forecast to outpace all other categories.
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