Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard said it sold over three million cases of Jameson Whiskey in 2010, with one million sold in the US alone.
The company said that Jameson sales growth saw a marked acceleration in the six months to December, with volumes up by 16%. Sales value grew even faster than volume, with a growth rate of 18% recorded.
As well as strong growth recorded in the US, Jameson sales saw good growth in Russia, Ukraine, Canada, France and Ireland as well as in duty frees.
The company said that during 2010-2011, over 80m will be spent on advertising and promoting Jameson around the world - a €10m increase on last year.
'The progress of Jameson within the Pernod Ricard family of brands has been one of our company's great success stories, growing from 466,000 cases when Irish Distillers joined Pernod Ricard in 1988, to 1 million in 1996, 2 million in 2006 and sales of over 3 million in 2010,' commented Alexandre Ricard, chairman and chief executive.
Irish Distillers said its portfolio of spirits and wines reflected the trend of a market where the off-trade benefited from a major reduction in cross border trade. The hospitality sector and the pub trade continued to suffer both volume and value falls in 2010.
Pernod Ricard also said that Absolut vodka virtually doubled its sales in Ireland in the six months to the end of December due to a high level of marketing and sponsorship activity.
Its wine brands - Jacob's Creek, Brancott Estate and Campo Viejo, all posted strong growth in a very competitive market, the company said.
