The One That Lost the Least is the Winner!

Bacardi Takes Back the Number One Sales Position for Rum

     Bacardí has reclaimed its title as the world’s best-selling rum brand.   The Spirit Business has released its The Brand Champions 2017 data, which ranks the world’s best-selling rum brands. Bacardí’s sales fell 1.09% in  to 17.23 million cases, however it was still enough to return the brand to the top spot.  Philippines-made rum Tanduay is the world’s second-largest rum brand, recording sales of 16.6 million cases in 2016.   Mc Dowell’s No. 1 Celebration finished third with sales of 14.9 million cases.  It is not a good omen for the category that the company with the smallest decline in sales becomes the sales champion.

     McDowell’s No.1 Celebration – owned by Diageo subsidiary United Spirits Limited (USL) – took the top title from Bacardi in 2014, but figures now show that McDowell’s took an 8% drop – making it the world’s third best-selling rum brand.   USL was hit by the complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in India's Bihar region as well as operating model changes.

     William Grant & Sons has confirmed that Sailor Jerry rum passed the mark of one million cases sales mark for the first time in 2016, a volume sales increase of 3.8% making it the second best-selling spiced rum after Captain Morgan. “The US remains our biggest market and they have done a great job in growing our share of the spiced rum category through consistent visibility in the off trade, grass root partnerships led by our local brand ambassadors, and impactful experiential partnerships,” said Chin Ru Foo, global brand director, Sailor Jerry, told the spirits business.


     Earlier this week, global rum ambassador Ian Burrell told Drinks International the rum category would benefit from having regulated classifications around the world.   There is no regulated classification of rum, even though some areas do have their own rules and regulations on the spirit".   There are lots of different interpretations of what can be called rum.   Rum has an old man stigma, a pirate’s drink which can only be drunk with coke.  But some of the rum cocktails produced here have been amazing and that can only help the image of the category.   The one area of growth in the category is the premium and ultra-premium expressions.