Bacardí has reclaimed its title as the world’s best-selling rum brand.
the spirits business has released its The Brand Champions 2017 data, which ranks the world’s best-selling rum brands.
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 sold 14.9m nine-litre cases in 2016 – 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.
Philippines-made rum Tanduay is the world’s second-largest rum brand, recording sales of 16.6 million cases in 2016.
Bacardí’s sales fell 1.09% in 2016 to 17.23 million cases, however it was still enough to return the brand to the top spot.
Rum faces a challenging market
The latest figures from IWSR showed a global downturn in rum consumption.
“The rum category posted a decline of 1.2% as consumer interest has shifted to whisky and tequila,” said IWSR.
In its Global Rum Insights report, released earlier this year, IWSR forecast a compound annual drop in rum sales of 0.5% between 2016 and 2021, representing a decline of almost 3.7m cases, with rum’s top three markets – India, the US and the Philippines – all expected to record falls.
However, it’s not all bad news for rum. Peru, Australia and Jamaica, are expected to grow strongly over the next few years.
“While high-volume (but usually low-value) countries such as India and the Philippines are set to decline, a basket of much smaller but more promising destinations are on the increase,” the report noted.
Spiced rum bucks the trend
William Grant & Sons has confirmed that Sailor Jerry rum passed the million case sales mark for the first time in 2016, a volume sales increase of 3.8%.
After Diageo’s Captain Morgan, it is now the second best-selling spiced rum in the world.
“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.
Rum regulation needed
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,” he explained. “So there are lots of different interpretations of what rum is.”
While attending the Bacardi Legacy cocktail competition in Berlin, he also noted: “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 be good for the category.”
