Whiskey remained a large but contracting U.S. spirits category in 2024. The market recorded 71,948 thousand 9-liter cases across all price tiers and $11,854 million in value sales, while export and Scotch whisky figures show a more mixed international picture.
Contents
- U.S. whiskey market size
- Sales by price tier
- Whiskey styles and origins
- Growth and decline by segment
- Whiskey compared with other spirits
- Exports and Scotch whisky
- Industry and brand indicators
U.S. whiskey market size
The DISCUS 2024 Annual Economic Briefing Support Tables reported total U.S. whiskey sales of 71,948 thousand 9-liter cases in 2024. The same source recorded total whiskey value sales of $11,854 million across all tiers. These are different measures: case volume tracks the number of standard 9-liter cases, while value sales measure dollars.
The category’s 2024 case growth was -3.5%, according to the same DISCUS tables. Thus, the category was substantial in scale but lower in volume than the comparison period used for that growth measure. The figures describe U.S. spirits-market sales during 2024, not worldwide consumption and not a forecast.
American whiskey accounted for 30,284 thousand 9-liter cases and $5,175 million in value sales in 2024. DISCUS separately reported American whiskey sales of $5.2 billion, down 1.8% year over year, in its Annual Economic Briefing 2024. The rounded $5.2 billion figure and the $5,175 million table figure describe the same broad category at different levels of precision.
Other style totals in the 2024 DISCUS support tables were 17,339 thousand cases for Canadian whiskey, 11,656 thousand for blended whiskey, 6,158 thousand for Scotch blended whiskey, 4,801 thousand for Irish whiskey, and 1,710 thousand for Scotch single malt whiskey.
Sales by price tier
The 2024 total whiskey case volume was distributed across four price tiers. The DISCUS support tables reported 13,872 thousand cases in the value tier, 19,687 thousand in the premium tier, 23,154 thousand in the high-end premium tier, and 15,236 thousand in the super-premium tier.
The high-end premium tier was the largest of the four reported tiers by case volume, while the value tier was the smallest. Tier labels describe the market classification used by DISCUS; they should not be treated as a universal retail definition or as a direct measure of quality.
Blended whiskey was concentrated in the premium tier. Its 2024 case figures were 2,263 thousand in value, 8,700 thousand in premium, 612 thousand in high-end premium, and 81 thousand in super-premium. Its total was 11,656 thousand cases.
American whiskey showed a different distribution. The category recorded 3,683 thousand value-tier cases, 6,493 thousand premium cases, 14,598 thousand high-end premium cases, and 5,510 thousand super-premium cases. Its high-end premium volume was the largest of those four American whiskey tier figures.
Canadian whiskey recorded 6,645 thousand value-tier cases, 2,517 thousand premium cases, 402 thousand high-end premium cases, and 7,775 thousand super-premium cases. Its super-premium figure was the largest of its reported tiers.
| Whiskey segment | Value | Premium | High-end premium | Super-premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blended whiskey | 2,263 | 8,700 | 612 | 81 |
| American whiskey | 3,683 | 6,493 | 14,598 | 5,510 |
| Canadian whiskey | 6,645 | 2,517 | 402 | 7,775 |
Figures are thousand cases for 2024 from the DISCUS 2024 Annual Economic Briefing Support Tables.
Whiskey styles and origins
Scotch blended whiskey sales totaled 6,158 thousand 9-liter cases in 2024. Its tier figures were 1,281 thousand value cases, 1,923 thousand premium cases, 2,439 thousand high-end premium cases, and 515 thousand super-premium cases. The high-end premium tier was its largest reported tier.
Scotch single malt whiskey totaled 1,710 thousand cases. The support tables reported 53 thousand premium cases, 855 thousand high-end premium cases, and 803 thousand super-premium cases. No value-tier case figure was supplied for this segment.
Irish whiskey totaled 4,801 thousand cases. Its supplied tier data included 4,249 thousand high-end premium cases and 553 thousand super-premium cases. No value- or premium-tier case figure was supplied for Irish whiskey in these tables.
Across all tiers, the reported 2024 value sales were $963 million for blended whiskey, $5,175 million for American whiskey, $2,330 million for Canadian whiskey, $1,382 million for Scotch blended whiskey, $846 million for Scotch single malt whiskey, and $1,157 million for Irish whiskey. These are category value figures, not individual brand revenue.
The tier-level case data also shows how differently these styles were positioned in the U.S. market. Blended whiskey had its largest supplied volume in the premium tier, American whiskey in high-end premium, and Canadian whiskey in super-premium. Scotch single malt and Irish whiskey had especially limited tier detail in the supplied figures, so their missing tiers should not be interpreted as zero sales.
Growth and decline by segment
All four total whiskey price tiers declined in 2024 in the DISCUS support tables, but the size of the declines varied. Value-tier case growth was -4.3%, premium-tier growth was -3.9%, high-end premium growth was -4.6%, and super-premium growth was -0.7%.
The super-premium tier therefore had the smallest reported decline among the four total tiers. The high-end premium tier had the largest decline. These percentages are case-growth measures for 2024 and do not describe dollar growth.
Among the named whiskey styles, blended whiskey case growth was -2.9%, American whiskey was -2.7%, and Canadian whiskey was -1.0%. Scotch blended whiskey declined 13.6%, while Scotch single malt declined 16.8%. Irish whiskey was the exception in this set, with case growth of 0.6%.
| Segment | 2024 case growth |
|---|---|
| Total whiskey | -3.5% |
| Blended whiskey | -2.9% |
| American whiskey | -2.7% |
| Canadian whiskey | -1.0% |
| Scotch blended whiskey | -13.6% |
| Scotch single malt whiskey | -16.8% |
| Irish whiskey | 0.6% |
The contrast between Irish whiskey’s slight increase and the declines reported for Scotch categories is one of the clearest differences in the supplied U.S. case-growth data. It does not establish the causes of those changes.
Whiskey compared with other spirits
DISCUS reported 2024 U.S. sales of $7.2 billion for vodka, flat year over year, placing vodka ahead of American whiskey in value. Tequila and mezcal sales reached $6.7 billion, up 2.9% year over year. Premixed cocktails, including spirits ready-to-drink products, reached $3.3 billion, up 16.5%.
American whiskey’s $5.2 billion in sales, down 1.8% year over year, was therefore below vodka and tequila/mezcal in the supplied comparison. The comparison uses value sales, not case volume, and combines tequila and mezcal into one reported category.
The available figures point to different 2024 directions across major spirits groups: vodka was stable, tequila/mezcal grew, premixed cocktails grew faster, and American whiskey declined. Those movements are category-level observations and do not predict any particular bar, venue, label, or cocktail’s performance.
Exports and Scotch whisky
The DISCUS release “U.S. Spirits Exports Hit Record $2.4 Billion in 2024” reported that U.S. spirits exports reached a record $2.4 billion in 2024, up nearly 10% from 2023. The same source said U.S. spirits exports rose from $478 million in 2000 to more than $2.4 billion in 2024, and that the European Union accounted for a 39% increase in U.S. spirits exports in 2024.
American whiskey exports to the European Union rose from $439 million in 2021 to $699 million in 2024, according to that DISCUS release. These export figures measure trade value and are not the same as U.S. domestic retail sales.
The Scotch Whisky Association’s 2024 export figures reported global Scotch whisky exports of £5.4 billion. Export volume reached 1.4 billion 70cl bottles, equivalent to 44 bottles per second in the association’s presentation. India exported 192 million bottles of Scotch whisky in 2024, regaining the top volume-market position, while the United States imported £971 million of Scotch whisky and was the largest market by value.
Scotch whisky exports fell 3.7% by value in 2024 but rose 3.9% by volume, according to the Scotch Whisky Association. That difference means the supplied export measures moved in opposite directions: fewer pounds of value alongside more bottles by volume.
The Scotch Whisky Economic Impact report 2024 measured £7.1 billion in gross value added for Scotch whisky across the United Kingdom in 2022 and £5.3 billion in Scotland in 2022. It also attributed 66,000 jobs across the UK and 41,000 jobs in Scotland to Scotch whisky in 2022. These are 2022 economic-impact measurements reported in a 2024 publication, not 2024 employment estimates.
Industry and brand indicators
Brown-Forman’s 2025 Integrated Annual Report said the company sold products in more than 170 countries in fiscal 2025. Its U.S. market accounted for 44% of net sales, and total net sales were $4.0 billion, down 5%, or $203 million, year over year.
The report identified Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey as the number-one selling American whiskey in the world in fiscal 2025. It also reported that Woodford Reserve net sales increased 8%, Old Forester net sales increased 8%, and Gentleman Jack net sales increased 4% during that fiscal year.
Not every Brown-Forman whiskey indicator moved upward. “Rest of Whiskey” net sales declined 23%, and the Jack Daniel’s RTD/RTP brand net sales decreased 8% in fiscal 2025. The report also said Jack Daniel’s bulk whiskey shipments helped support Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola ready-to-drink production.
For broader company context, Brown-Forman reported a 37.5% dividend payout ratio in fiscal 2025 and total assets of $6.522 billion as of April 30, 2025. Those corporate figures provide scale around a major producer but should not be treated as measures of the entire whiskey market.