Irish whiskey remains strong within the US spirits market, finds Datamonitor.

Irish whiskey has appealed to ‘pre-committal’ young men who have continued to spend throughout the recession and been more adventurous in trying new brands. The market is predicted to grow at a rate of 9.4% year-on-year over five years to 2014 in the US compared to just 2% for the overall whisky market and 0.2% for Scotch whisky.

“Irish whiskey has successfully set itself apart from the general market which has traditionally been dominated by older drinkers. In fact our research has revealed that in the US within the spirits market as a whole 41% of whiskey drinkers are over 55 compared to only 4% who are in the youngest age category.

“Irish whiskey is an example of a European brand trading on the fact that it’s different to what is already on offer in an established market like the US. It has therefore become recession proof,” says Vicky McCrorie, analyst at Datamonitor.

As a result of the popularity of the drink, Datamonitor has recorded the launch of five new products in the first four months of 2010.