Jameson whiskey remains one of the top performing brands for Pernod Ricard with volumes in the first nine months up 11 per cent and up 10 per cent for the 12 months to the end of September.

Confirmation of the sales growth for Pernod's flagship Irish brand came with the French group's third-quarter results. These also show that the BWG distribution operations in Ireland and the UK increased sales in the period by almost 11 per cent to €1 billion.

BWG is one of the Pernod operations that is currently for sale to fund Pernod's involvement in the joint takeover with Diageo of the Seagrams drinks business.