“Right now, success is about outperforming the market” – Craig Johnson, head of the American Whiskey Collective at Pernod Ricard

It wouldn’t be unjustified to say that Pernod Ricard’s American whiskey portfolio doesn’t quite have the clout of its major rivals. Since returning to the category in 2016 with the acquisition of a majority share in Smooth Ambler Spirits Co., the group’s activity in US whiskey has been relatively modest, mostly comprising the acquisition of small, artisan brands with little-to-no international distribution. Today, the Paris-headquartered group has just a 2% share of the American whiskey market domestically, and declined to comment on the percentage of its total revenues contributed by its brands in the segment. What it lacks in volume and stature, however, Pernod Ricard believes it can make up for in value, having assembled a roster of fast-growing, premium and super-premium brands it argues are perfectly positioned to take advantage of trading-up trends in the category. Last month, the group announced the creation of a new, dedicated American whiskey unit. The American Whiskey Collective will house its Jefferson’s, Rabbit Hole, Smooth Ambler and TX Whiskey brands, and will sit in its North American division. Pernod Ricard's US whiskey roster majors on super-premium and premium expressions. The new unit – which Pernod Ricard says will mirror its The Gin Hub and House of Tequila entities – is being headed up by Craig Johnson, previously the group’s VP of marketing for Scotch, American whiskies, Tequila and Champagne/sparkling wine. This week, Just Drinks sat down with the New-York based veteran to learn more about the group’s ambitions in the category. Just Drinks: What are the purpose and goals of Pernod’s new American Whiskey Collective? Craig Johnson, head of Pernod Ricard’s American Whiskey Collective: We have four great American whiskey brands and bringing them together will allow us to build them further in the US and in the rest of the world. Our portfolio is designed to meet a wide spectrum of consumer needs – two brands from Kentucky, a brand from West Virginia and a brand from Texas, all with unique stories and attributes. These are all relatively small brands compared to some of the industry giants, so bringing this portfolio together under one roof will help it grow, and drive our focus and attention, and it will aid us with operations and supply chain, which is one of the biggest concerns of any company right now. JD: What does success look like in US whiskey for Pernod Ricard? Do you have any goals for how big you’d like the category to be for the group – in two, five, ten years? CJ: We are about 2% of the US whiskey category domestically so we are still a very small part, but we have a very premium collection of brands, which is where the category is growing. Right now, Jefferson’s Bourbon is one of the top ten value drivers in the category. Rabbit Hole is in the top 15, and TX is one of Pernod Ricard’s largest brands in the state of Texas, where we do about 80% of the volume on that brand. Right now, success is about outperforming the marketplace. American whiskey is one of the fastest-growing categories in the world, and we are currently outperforming the wider category. So, for us, it is about continuing to outpace US whiskey and the wider spirits category. We want to win share domestically and start to expand globally. That is our ambition. Smooth Ambler was Pernod Ricard's re-entry to the US whiskey category in 2016. JD: Is Pernod’s return to the category and the subsequent creation of the American Whiskey collective an admission the group made a mistake in exiting the category when it did? CJ: No, I would say this is a forward-looking move looking at the opportunities that are in front of us. We have strong brands that we feel are positioned in the right place in the category, and now the opportunity is here for us to take advantage of. JD: Are you happy with the brands you have in your US whiskey roster? The portfolio feels like it maybe lacks a flagship or heavy hitter that some of your rivals possess? CJ: We are very happy with our brands. They are extremely premium, which is one of the key drivers of the American whiskey category right now. Consumers are trading up and we see that trend continuing. There is a long runway for premiumisation and subsequent growth in the Bourbon category, and our brands are perfectly positioned to take advantage of that. We have brands at multiple price points that are having success, and we’re seeing the most success at the super-premium end of the spectrum, so we’re very happy with what we have. JD: So you’re not looking to make any further moves imminently in the category? CJ: I can’t comment on potential or future M&A moves, but at the end of the day we think we have a portfolio that we can win with. Jefferson’s sales have more than doubled since Pernod Ricard USA acquired the brand. JD: Turning to the category more broadly, what and where are the major opportunities for Pernod Ricard to grow? CJ: As I said, the biggest trend that we see continuing is the premiumisation of the category, as more and more consumers enter it. They may enter in a more popular priced brand, but they very quickly begin to explore the category and that exploration is generally in an upwards trajectory in terms of price. We also see consumers with a very strong exploration mindset within this category, similar to what you see in single malt. People will move around and jump, but once they find a brand that really works for them, that becomes part of their everyday repertoire, and that tallies with what we are seeing with our brands. As consumers actively engage in Bourbon and American whiskies and educate themselves about the category, the stories that we have with our brands put us in a strong position. The other thing we are seeing in this category is the tourism around the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Right now, the trail and Louisville gets three times as many tourists as a city like Dublin. Whiskey tourism is growing and we know that is a really key driver of generating consumer loyalty for our brands. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r