Jack Daniel’s overtakes traditional whisky as UK’s favourite

The ritual of settling down in front of a roaring fire, with a wee dram of Scotch, has sustained the nation through the cold winter nights for centuries.

But the whisky in the tumblers of British drinkers could soon be as likely to be American as Scotch, after new figures showed that Jack Daniel’s had become the nation’s biggest selling brand.

The trade magazine, The Grocer, said that the Tennesseemade spirit had usurped The Famous Grouse as the UK’s most popular whisky after its sales surged by 9.3 per cent in the last year.

This coincided with a 4.4 per cent slump in sales of the six leading blended Scotches, with sales of The Famous Grouse alone plummeting by 14.9 per cent.

The trend is thought to be fuelled by younger drinkers who identify more closely with American brands, as well as efforts by retailers to promote bourbons and US whiskeys ahead of their Scotch counterparts, because they more profitable.

The latest data, which captures sales from shops and supermarkets but not from restaurants and bars, shows Jack Daniel’s is now Britain’s ninth biggest alcohol brand, up from 11th last year, while The Famous Grouse fell three places to 13th.

It comes after Jim Murray, the author of the bestselling Whisky Bible, did not select a single Scotch in his list of the world’s five best whiskies of 2016, for the second year running.

Mr Murray has previously claimed that Scotch was routinely being trumped by American bourbon.

“Generally speaking, bourbon … has overtaken Scotch,” he said. The best whisky is coming not from Scotland any more, but from Kentucky.”

The six blended Scotches in this year’s top 100 lost £26.7 million over the last year, according to The Grocer.

Crispin Stephens, the head of commercial planning at Jack Daniel’s owner Bacardi BrownForman, said younger drinkers had less of a patriotic attachment to Scotch.

He said: “People don’t want to drink what their fathers drank. There is a broader interest in Americana.

“Positive cultural associations with America are coming through in casual dining trends.”

Mr Stephens said retailers had been giving more prominence to American whisky because it yields the best return, with a 70cl bottle of Jack Daniel’s costing the same price as a litre of many Scotch competitors.

The switch to more expensive products drove the combined value of the top 100 brands up by £149 million.

The report found that the alcohol aisles have seen intense promotional activity in the last year, with prices falling for 68 of the top 100 brands.

The price of Jack Daniel’s itself has declined by six percent in the last year.

Mr Stephens said the price drops and featured space deals at key periods, such as Christmas and Father’s Day, had been crucial to growth.