2016 whisk(e)y sales in Sweden, visualized
What type of whisk(e)y has a death grip on the Swedish consumer? (Spoiler: it’s not bourbon)
The Swedish alcohol monopoly, Systembolaget, publicly release their annual consumer sales in detailed reports. I’ve crunched some numbers to give you an idea of where we are today, and some thoughts on where I hope to go:
Top three brands, by sales in category:
Scotch blended whisky: The Famous Grouse, High Commissioner, Grant’s.
Scotch malt whisky ≤ 18yrs: Glen Grant, The Ileach, Highland Park.
Irish whiskey: Tullamore Dew, Jameson, Bushmills.
American whiskey: Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Bulleit.
It is interesting that the top 24 best selling whiskeys in Sweden in 2016 are all under 300kr (~$37), a range that in Sweden could be considered “bottom shelf”. The first one above 300kr is Jack Daniel’s, an American whiskey, at 309kr (~$38)!
If we look at the sales by volume between the years 2009 and 2016, Scotch blended whisky has decreased by 14.1%, while the American whiskey category has increased by a whopping 43%!
While the quantity of Scotch blended whisky sold in Sweden is orders of magnitude larger than American whiskey today–with this pace of change the latter will have surpassed the former in 2050! 😅
So even though other types of whisk(e)y still outsell the American ones in 2016–I will make sure that this won’t be the case for much longer. The future of bourbon is looking bright!
One last thing! I’d really appreciate it if you show support for this post (by clapping) so other people can find it, and feel free to comment by adding a response! Follow the Northern Bourbon publication to get notified when new bourbon-related articles are published. If you enjoyed this article, please consider following me on Instagram and liking the Northern Bourbon facebook page. Thanks!
/Erik
