Significant growth in sales of Irish whiskey in the US during the past year: the sales went up 10% compared to 2003. The important increase was associated with the success of Atkins Diet and with the trend of low-carb diets.

Whiskey is among the zero-carbohydrate, low-calories beverages, together with other spirits such as vodka, tequila, rum, brandy and gin.

The raise belongs to the general upward trend in spirits sales registered during 2004. At the end of the past year, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) reported an overall increase of spirits sales of 3.1% in volume. The most spectacular growth was however noted with Irish whiskey. Although Vodka maintains its leading position with 25% of the spirits market, the increase in volume was of merely 4%.

With whiskey, the level of the sales in the US raised up to the level of the French market, the second-biggest market for Irish whiskey. Sales reached about 450,000 cases, and if the US market maintains its current trend, sales could overtake the current first position on the market, namely the Irish market, which has fallen lately and has a downward trend because of the steep increase in excise duties and a change in preferences of drinkers. The figures are: 550,000 cases of Irish whiskey sold in 2004 vs. 700,000 cases sold during the 1990s.

In search of low-carb alcoholic drinks, Atkins dieters have made whiskey and diet Coke their first choices. It has even been said that whiskey was brought back in fashion again, fact proven by the contradiction between the raising tendency in sales vs. the lowering in popularity met by Atkins and the low-carb diets during the same year — 2004. So, being trendy again is what explains the success of whiskey on the spirits market.

The low-carb craze was the kickoff for the ulterior climb of spirits sales in spite of the popularity loss of diets such as Atkins and the companies in whiskey business capitalized the propitious moment and fully benefited from the results.