Irish whiskey grew 6.6% in U.S. depletions during the third quarter

Irish whiskey expanded its U.S. distribution in the third quarter even as the broader spirits market continued to shrink, according to data released on Wednesday by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America and its SipSource analytics platform.

The group said U.S. depletions of traditional spirits, a measure of volume moving from wholesalers to retailers and hospitality accounts, fell 2.5% in the three months ended in September compared with the same period in 2025. Within that weaker market, Irish whiskey posted a 6.6% increase, making it one of the categories that gained ground while overall shipments declined.

Tequila and liqueurs also recorded growth during the July-through-September period. SipSource reported tequila volumes up 2.5% from a year earlier and liqueurs up 1.4%. The release did not provide absolute shipment volumes for any category.

The quarterly decline was less severe than the longer-term contraction shown in the same report. Over the 12 months ended in September, traditional spirits volumes were down 4.1% from the previous 12-month period. The two figures are not directly comparable because they measure different time windows, but together they suggest that the market remained under pressure even as the short-term rate of decline eased.

The data cover the United States and track what the industry calls depletions, or the flow of product out of wholesalers and into stores, bars and restaurants. That makes the figures a closely watched indicator of trade activity, but not a direct reading of what consumers ultimately bought or drank. A rise or fall in depletions can reflect retailer ordering patterns and inventory management as well as consumer demand.

WSWA said its members distribute more than 80% of the wine and spirits sold in the United States, giving SipSource a broad view of the market. Even so, the coverage is not complete. The methodology excludes control states, where the government plays a direct role in wholesale distribution or retail sales of alcohol. The organization also said the snapshot did not include broader aggregate measures that combine spirits with wine or ready-to-drink products.

That matters because the strongest areas of beverage alcohol in recent years have not always matched the performance of core distilled spirits categories. By limiting the data here to traditional spirits, the report offers a narrower view of how established liquor segments are moving through the wholesale tier. In that slice of the market, Irish whiskey stood out as a clear growth category for the quarter.

The report did not explain why Irish whiskey outperformed the wider market. It also did not break out whether growth came from premium products, larger brands, or gains in on-premise versus off-premise channels. Still, the category’s 6.6% increase was notable against a market where total traditional spirits shipments continued to fall.

The numbers arrive as the beverage alcohol industry has been dealing with softer growth after several years of unusually strong demand during and after the pandemic period. Suppliers, wholesalers and retailers have been watching depletions closely for signs of stabilization, particularly in categories that expanded rapidly earlier in the decade. The third-quarter figures suggest that any recovery remains uneven, with only a few segments posting gains.

SipSource publishes regular tracking data used across the industry to monitor sales trends, inventory movement and category performance. Because the platform measures shipments from wholesalers rather than scan data at the cash register, executives often use it as an early signal of changes in trade demand. The latest release, based on the quarter ended in September, pointed to a market that was still contracting overall but showed pockets of resilience in Irish whiskey, tequila and liqueurs.