Ah yes, I'm sure it's the best selling Irish.

Someone told me that Jamesons was catholic and Bushmills protestant?

inasmuch as Jameson was distilled in Dublin (now Cork) and Bushmills, as ever, outside Belfast, then yes.

Jameson lost the crown of best selling whiskey a while ago. American whiskeys currently hold the top two spots (Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam) with a Canadian brand in third place (Crown Royal). Jameson is fourth, quite a long way ahead of fifth-placed Suntory.

by Canadian standards it might be "just outside" by NI standards it's halfway across the ******* country*!



* was going to put world!

I was so disgusted to find James Bond asking for a Crown Royal in the Deaver novel I nearly wrote in from Tunbridge Wells.

If it was Forty Creek I might have more tolerance for the insipid prose.

As global brands I don't think either of those are close to the Top

as the Sprits market is driven by consumption mainly in Asia, they drive what's top

A list of the Top Sprits consumed in the world

1.Jinro (soju) - 61.38 m cases
2.Smirnoff (vodka) - 24.70m cases
3.Lotte Liquor (soju) - 23.90m cases
4.Emperador (brandy) - 20.10m cases
5.Bacardi (rum) - 19.56m cases
6.Tanduay (rum) -18.71m cases
7.Pirassunga 51 (cachaca) - 18.60m cases
8.Johnnie Walker (Scotch whisky) - 18.00m cases
9.Officer's Choice (Indian whisky) - 16.53m cases
10.McDowell's No.1 (Indian whisky) - 16.08m cases
11.Bagpiper (Indian whisky) - 15.98m cases
12.McDowell's No.1 Celebration (rum) - 15.63m cases
13.Red Star Er Guo Tou (baijiu) - 13.68m cases
14.Royal Stag (Indian whisky) - 12.49m cases
15.McDowell's No.1 (Indian brandy) - 11.72m cases
16.Absolut (vodka) - 11.21m cases
17.Old Tavern (Indian whisky) - 11.07m cases
18. Original Choice (Indian whisky) - 10.77m cases
19. Jack Daniel's (US whiskey) - 10.58m cases
20.Pitu (cachaca) - 10.49m case

With Soju massively out in front and Jonny Walker is up there at 8, followed By Indian Whiskey at 9,10,11 brands that I have never heard of

But the first American Whiskey is JD

If I recall correctly indian whisky isn't even whisky in our sense of the world- its rum.

As such I can say it blends pretty well with coke.

Have to say the bottle of "six shooter" indian rum I was gifted once got promptly regifted; the ex-works price of 99c a bottle put me off.

Interesting - thanks Mike. Of course, I bow to your much greater knowledge in this sphere. I got my list from a quick google that led me to The world’s best-selling world whisky brands - purports to be 2013 whisky consumption figures but I must confess I was surprised to see no Johnnie Walker on there. And I'd forgotten all about the Indian whisky brands - they're massively popular.

Well fair enough. I should have known better - especially having visited the old distillery museum thingy. A brisk hike from the Giants' Causeway, I seem to recall, and quite a long way from Belfast. Apologies to any resident Norn Iron people

I have a feeling Johnnies Walker is the world's most advertised brand, in a desperate effort to retain the market share it once had.

In 1975 a friend and I had a bottle of Taj Rum (white) from India and it was absolutely lethal, a few drinks and I was sick all night. Several days later he drank about 1/3 of the bottle and spent the next 2 days in bed shaking and puking. It tasted like running shoes, possibly the worst commercially produced liquor I've ever had. It had a picture of the Taj Mahal on the label; I can't find it on the internet so mercifully it's probably not being made anymore.

I assumed it was a Whisky- Whiskey thing.

After some Chelsea Gin (Nigeria) I thought the pressure building in my eyeballs was going to make the explode, which was a bit of a moment. And that's not even a discount brand over there; I didn't try the dropkick gin made from industrial ethanol, water and imported flavourant.

I had a colleague who frequently travelled to china

we've spent a few afternoons working through Posh Chinese liquor and also struggling through the common domestic stuff

Some tasting like it was meant for a lawnmower

It interesting to taste outside of our comfort zones

probably safer than half the locally distilled stuff

Years ago I attended a Mongolian buffet at the U of R Faculty Club prepared by an exchange professor (Ho Chin) and 2 of his students from Mongolia who were at the First Nations University and we had Mao Tai and ginseng whiskey and it tasted like it had hair on it. After a few shots you could hardly tell though.