“I drink a glass of whiskey instead of a glass of soju”… Reorganizing the ‘liquor map’ of large supermarkets

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeong Soo-yeon = As the alcoholic beverage market changed from a drinking culture enjoyed by many people to a focus on tastes such as home drinking and solo drinking, whiskey sales began to surpass soju, the most popular alcoholic drink.

According to E-Mart on the 17th, whiskey accounted for 16.3% of total alcohol sales from January to September this year, overtaking soju (15.9%) for the first time.

During this period, whiskey sales increased by 11.1% compared to the same period last year, exceeding the growth rate of soju sales (2.0%).

The growth rate of whiskey sales was 21.8% in 2023, 16.1% in 2024, and 2.9% in 2025, before rising again to double digits this year.

This is the first time that sales of a single item of whiskey, rather than sales of all spirits including whiskey, vodka, tequila, and rum, have surpassed soju at E-Mart.

Whiskey sales also increased at Lotte Mart.

In the first half of this year, Lotte Mart's liquor category sales, including whiskey, increased 2.3% compared to the same period last year.

Blended whiskey sales increased by 13.6% during the same period, driving growth, and Japanese whiskey sales also increased by 12.6%.

In the past, the typical culture was to drink a mixture of soju and beer in groups, but recently, this can be interpreted as a result of the spread of the culture of enjoying alcohol alone or in small groups at home.

Whiskey can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, such as highballs, and is evaluated as being suitable for this consumption method as it is easy to share and store once opened.

Considering this trend, the distribution industry is diversifying its whiskey product assortment.

E-Mart will hold a 'Whiscovery' event until the 21st and sell a total of 80 types of whiskey at a 10-50% discount.

About half of the items are whiskey sold for the first time.

An official in the distribution industry said, "It is not the result of a decrease in soju sales, but a rapid increase in whiskey consumption. Like wine, there is a phenomenon in which consumers enjoy popular products at first and then look for new tastes and production regions."