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Pernod Ricard doubles down on American whiskey
French spirits giant Pernod Ricard has launched a North American Distillers (NADL) division to solidify its presence in the American whiskey category.
The new division will follow a similar structure to the Irish whiskey and Scotch arms of the French business, Irish Distillers and Chivas Brothers, and will be responsible for global marketing strategy and production of its premium American whiskey brands.
Pernod Ricard’s American whiskey portfolio includes Jefferson’s, TX, Rabbit Hole and Smooth Ambler and peanut-butter flavoured Skrewball.
Richard Black, an industry veteran with 23 years of experience with Pernod Ricard, will lead the NADL as CEO. Black’s experience includes leadership roles at Chivas Brothers and most recently as global marketing director for Martell, one of France’s oldest cognac houses. In his new role, Black will oversee the entirety of the company’s American whiskey portfolio and its North American operations.
Black called American whiskey a “dynamic spirits category” and said the company’s portfolio “shows immense potential for future growth”.
“Our investments made in Jefferson’s, Rabbit Hole, Smooth Ambler, Skrewball and TX, underscore our ambitious commitment,” Black added.
“My mission is to harness this potential and drive a singular focus on these brands and our operations, driving us towards our goals and creating a top-tier marketing and sustainable operations team on the back of our peoples’ deep-rooted expertise.”
The creation of NADL follows Pernod Ricard’s initial establishment of its American whiskey portfolio as an independent unit within Pernod Ricard USA.
One of the NADL’s priorities will be overseeing the opening of Jefferson’s new carbon-neutral Bourbon distillery, which is under construction in Kentucky and is estimated to cost around US$250 million.
Supporting Black in operations will be Pierre Joncourt (current senior vice-president of operations for Pernod Ricard North America), and for whiskey and marketing, Kaveh Zamanian (founder of Rabbit Hole whiskey).
American whiskey category
American whiskey is bringing home the bacon, accounting for 63% of US spirits exports in 2023, Discus has said.
Since the EU suspended its 25% retaliatory tariff on American whiskeys in January 2022, US whiskey exports increased by 61% compared to 2021.
Over the span of two years, the export of American whiskey to the EU surged by over 60%, up from US$439m in 2021 to $705m in 2023 — 50% of total American whiskey exports.
In December 2023, the EU announced that it would continue the suspension of tariffs on American whiskeys in the steel and aluminium dispute for 15-months, until March 31, 2025. However, if no permanent resolution is reached, the EU will reimpose its tariff on American Whiskeys at 50%, up from the previously imposed 25%, Discus has said.
Despite these challenges, global exports of US spirits have risen by nearly 280% over the past 20 years from US$587m in 2003 to more than US$2.2bn now.
US whiskey is not the only category Pernod Ricard is investing in. The company announced in June that it had started construction on a new €25 million carbon-neutral distillery for its Japanese gin Ki No Bi, increasing production capacity for the brand by five times. Read more here.
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