March 3rd was International Irish Whiskey Day, a day dedicated to celebrating Ireland’s rich heritage of producing fine spirits enjoyed the world over.
It was a fitting occasion then for the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) to release their ‘Irish Whiskey in Numbers’ dataset. Using figures supplied by Ireland’s food board, Bord Bia, and the International Wine and Spirits Record, the IWA announcement proudly declares the Irish whisky industry’s strong performance in recent years.
The most eye-catching figure was the fact that Irish whiskey exports exceeded €1 billion in 2024. Irish whiskey is sold in over 113 markets, the majority of which offer legal protection for the Irish whiskey category.
Back in January, Bord Bia revealed that exports rose by 13% in 2024, with growth in all markets except the UK. The latest dataset shows that India was the largest growing market, with 107% more Irish whiskey entering the market compared to the previous year.
An impressive 15.5 million cases of Irish whiskey were sold in 2024. The data also suggests that 90% of all Irish whiskey produced was exported.
The data also highlights the importance of Irish whiskey domestically. There are 50 distilleries in Ireland, 28 of which have visitor centres. These attracted 800,000 visitors last year, bringing an important boost to the local economy. Additionally, around 10,000 people are employed by the brewing and distilling sector in Ireland.
Eoin Ó Catháin, director of the IWA, said: “The success of the Irish whiskey sector is due to the innovation, resilience and hard work of our producers – passionate distillers that are found in almost every county in Ireland, deeply proud of the heritage of Irish whiskey.
“Last year, we celebrated 700 years since the publication of the Red Book of Ossory, with its instructions for distilling aqua vitae – or uisce beatha – which, of course, we know today as whiskey. The ongoing hard work and ingenuity of Irish whiskey producers provides a solid platform for the next 700 years!”
The IWA's infographic with all the relevant information can be seen below.
As seen above, Jameson is the best selling Irish whiskey brand, and one of the top ten top sellers in the world. Recently, the brand introduced a new whisky to their esteemed range. For more information on this release, as well as news on other whisky launches, check out our previous article "New Release Recap - February 2025."
Bevvy's own Laurie and Ross put two icons of Irish whiskey head to head in the ultimate taste test - see the full video below.
