The Famous Grouse reclaimed its position as the UK's number one whisky over the Christmas period 2019, with sales topping £71m.
The Scotch blend topped the whisky category in the 12 weeks to 4 January 2020, according to data from Nielsen which also showed that whisky beat both gin and vodka in sales over the festive period, with sales valued at £393m.
Famous Grouse's return to the top spot comes after it was pipped to the post by Jack Daniel's in 2018, but the brands' fortunes were reversed in 2019, when Jack Daniel's saw its value drop by 9.3 per cent compared with the Famous Grouse's 2.6 per cent rise. However, the wider blended Scotch category struggled, with value down 4.1 per cent over Christmas.
Mark Riley, managing director at Edrington-Beam Suntory UK, said: "The Famous Grouse for years has been the UK’s favourite whisky and driving force behind the blended Scotch category, so we are delighted to have reclaimed our number one spot in the UK’s largest spirits category.
"It’s fantastic to see a Scotch back in the top spot, particularly for The Famous Grouse, where success has been driven by our strong equity, premiumisation and increased demand for smaller bottle sizes."
The Scotch blend topped the whisky category in the 12 weeks to 4 January 2020, according to data from Nielsen which also showed that whisky beat both gin and vodka in sales over the festive period, with sales valued at £393m.
Famous Grouse's return to the top spot comes after it was pipped to the post by Jack Daniel's in 2018, but the brands' fortunes were reversed in 2019, when Jack Daniel's saw its value drop by 9.3 per cent compared with the Famous Grouse's 2.6 per cent rise. However, the wider blended Scotch category struggled, with value down 4.1 per cent over Christmas.
Mark Riley, managing director at Edrington-Beam Suntory UK, said: "The Famous Grouse for years has been the UK’s favourite whisky and driving force behind the blended Scotch category, so we are delighted to have reclaimed our number one spot in the UK’s largest spirits category.
"It’s fantastic to see a Scotch back in the top spot, particularly for The Famous Grouse, where success has been driven by our strong equity, premiumisation and increased demand for smaller bottle sizes."
