Skip to main content

The best selling spirits of 2023 aren’t what you’d expect

The worldwide spirits industry embraces soju and whiskey

By Georgina Torbet Jun 13, 2024 8:15 AM

Strong Spirits Set. Hard alcoholic drinks in glasses in assortment: vodka, cognac, tequila, brandy and whiskey, grappa, liqueur, vermouth, tincture, rum. Vintage bar counter background, selective focus — 5ph / Adobe Stock

If you were asked to name the best-selling spirits in the world, what might you choose? Patron, the face of tequila in every club? Absolut, the practically inescapable Swedish vodka? Maybe Jack Daniels, a brand so iconic its name is practically interchangeable with Tennessee whiskey? Well, a new report from The Spirits Business has highlighted the best selling worldwide spirits brands of 2023, and they may not be what you expect.

The clue is in the word “worldwide,” as markets like China and India are increasingly becoming the places where spirits are sold most often. With a tough year for spirits sales in locations like the U.S. and Europe, these markets are becoming more and more important. “2023 was tumultuous, to say the least,” editor Melita Kiely wrote in the report, pointing out challenges from rising energy costs, inflation, and supply chain issues.

Recommended Videos

Not every brand is included in the Brand Champions report, as they don’t all disclose their sales numbers, but it’s certainly interesting to see what the big sellers are. The top ten list across all categories is as follows:

Jinro (soju)
White claw (ready to drink)
McDowell’s Whisky (whisky)
Royal Stag (whisky)
-196°C Strong Zero (ready to drink)
Chum Churum (soju)
Smirnoff (vodka)
Officer’s Choice (whisky)
Tanduay (rum)
Imperial Blue (whisky)

This just goes to show how different drinking habits are around the world. And if this has you curious about drinks like soju, a Korean clear spirit traditionally made with rice and now often incorporating different flavors like fruit, take this as an excuse to go out and try some new spirits, as these are increasingly available in supermarkets, liquor stores, and specialty shops.

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary… Read Full Bio

Topics

Liquor, Beer, Wine & Drinks

Four Roses’ 2026 Limited Edition Small Batch is its oldest blend yet

Bottle, Whiskey, Glass

Four Roses has announced the release of its 2026 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon next month — and this year’s batch reaches back further than any prior release, blending bourbons aged 14 to 23 years.

The new blend from the Lawrenceburg-based distillery combines four hand-selected batches across three of the distillery’s ten recipes: 14-year-old OBSK, 14-year-old OESK, 15-year-old OESV, and a 23-year-old OESK. It’s non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel strength, 109.2 proof.

The Gold Room Is Peak Gilded Age New York Glamour

Altar, Architecture, Building

As a New England WASP, I probably have a hereditary fondness for grand old rooms. My Boston Brahmin forebears, after trading religious zeal for mercantile ambition, liked nothing better than sipping claret, playing whist, and smoking cigars in their clubhouses on Beacon Hill. In private quarters adorned with mahogany paneling, maritime paintings, and marble fireplaces, my flinty ancestors chortled deep into the night—safely removed from wives, papists, and, God forbid, Yale men.

Since moving to New York City, I’ve delighted in finding bars that feel like clubhouses frozen in the Gilded Age. The Campbell in Grand Central comes to mind. The Rose Club at the Plaza. Although much newer, the Polo Bar gussies up the blue-blood clubhouse aesthetic with fabulous fare, a trophy-laden wine cellar, and an ultra-exclusive mystique. But the apotheosis of robber-baron extravagance is The Gold Room at Lotte New York Palace.

Classic lagers to drink if you want your beer to “taste like beer”

Pilsner Urquell

When you think about the flavor of beer, what do you imagine? To me, it’s a crisp, refreshing, no-frills lager. The type of beer you’d just as likely crack open on an unseasonably warm spring day while grilling as you would after an afternoon of mowing the lawn on a hot, hazy, humid summer day. It’s light, refreshing, and tastes like beer.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for chocolate- and coffee-centric porters or boozy, barrel-aged stouts, or even tart, lip-smacking sour beers. There is a time and place for those and many other styles. It’s just that sometimes I want to crack open a beer and not taste an explosion of tropical fruit juices or get bashed in the head with malts or oaky wood. I want a beer that tastes the way I imagine it should. Specifically, I’m thinking about a balanced, thirst-quenching lager.