This report is about what’s new here, and the long‑held values behind our company vision. It’s about how we’re continuing to integrate corporate responsibility and business performance into the future. We’re proud of how far our heritage has taken us and how well it equips us to take on the next generation.
Quality and social responsibility became the cornerstone of our business in 1870, when founder George Garvin Brown began selling his whiskey in sealed glass bottles. Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky was the first bottled bourbon in America, and as such, the first to guarantee quality and safety. It cost more to do it that way, but George believed the investment would pay off in the long run. It did.
Woodford Reserve delivered stellar performance results in the United States, growing underlying net sales by 22% (17% as reported) and winning MarketWatch’s Brand of the Year award. This leading super-premium American Whiskey was an increasingly important contributor to the company in fiscal 2019. Now gaining traction abroad, Woodford Reserve is on-track to sell a million cases in 2020. This room for growth includes opportunities for developing the Woodford Reserve brand family with further premiumization as well as geographic expansion of the brand.
Supporting this success, the Woodford Reserve Distillery is committed to sustainability. In 2018, the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection recognized Woodford Reserve as a partner in its Kentucky Excellence in Environmental Leadership Program. The distillery partnered with The Nature Conservancy Kentucky chapter in a creek-side restoration project to restore native plants, animal habitats, and improve water quality.
In 2018, on a value basis, IWSR data confirmed Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey was recognized as the most valuable single expression spirit brand from the western world. In 2019, Jack Daniel’s family of brands sold 17.7 million equivalent 9L cases. We have diversified the trademark so that roughly 25% of our Jack Daniel’s brand family volumes come from brands other than Tennessee Whiskey, and over 60% of our depletions occur in markets outside of the United States.
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey accounted for 13.4 million of these cases and continues to deliver its strongest rates of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey continues to be the primary driver of our growth in non-U.S. markets. 2.4 million cases Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey and Fire depleted 2.4 million cases around the world, and aggregate net sales are growing mid-single digits. growth in markets outside of the United States, with underlying sales growth in the mid-single digits.
