Conor McGregor has seemingly taken the credit for Irish whiskey's revenue growth in the US. The MMA star and owner of Proper No. Twelve took to Instagram, quoting the success of the entirity of Irish whiskey sales in the US, seemingly taking the credit. McGregor’s post said: “Over $1bn generated in whiskey sales in my first year! Like it or not, there is a new king in town!” Case sales of Proper No.12 are not publically available, though are thought to be a small fraction of total Irish whiskey sales in the US, where Pernod Ricard brand Jameson is the dominant brand. Proper No. Twelve takes its name from Dublin 12, the area where McGregor grew up and the liquid consists of both grain and malt whiskies aged in ex-bourbon barrels. which. It is made by former Bushmills distillery manager David Eldar.<doc-sep>Conor McGregor — the world’s fourth-highest paid athlete — is launching his latest fight in the crosshairs of hedge fund activist Paul Singer’s Elliott Management. And the purse is so large it could transform this swaggering UFC legend into a billionaire, according to ringside analysts. “It is just the beginning,” the 30-year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) champion told The Post exclusively. McGregor is looking to shake up the lucrative US market for Irish whiskey. And the “Notorious” Irishman is making no apologies. “I said that I was coming in strong and would disrupt the whiskey category, and me and my team have done exactly that,” he said. Since McGregor launched his Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey late last year, sales of his brand — named after his Dublin neighborhood — have soared. Meanwhile, in December, Elliott revealed its $1.1 billion investment in Pernod-Ricard, owner of market leader Jameson whiskey. That brand has an estimated 70 percent share of America’s Irish whiskey market, which recently surpassed a whopping $1 billion in annual sales, compared with a mere $74 million in 2003. “Proper No. Twelve for me is bigger than just making money,” McGregor, founder, chairman and majority shareholder of privately held Eire Born Spirits, told The Post. “It is about my legacy and my love for Ireland,” he added. “I want to create a brand that will live on, and that my children and grandchildren will be proud of.” And “Mystic Mac,” as McGregor is nicknamed, may be well on the way. The whiskey, a blend of single malt and golden grain, sold out its consignment of 200,000 cases that sells for about $29.99 a bottle in New York — in a matter of days, rather than the six months originally allotted. Then the brand opened markets in UK and Australia, after its successful launch in the US and Ireland. “I think this year we will surpass the Number Two and Number Three most popular Irish whiskey brands in the US,” said McGregor’s business partner, Ken Austin. Austin, founder and former chairman of the Avión tequila brand, says McGregor wants to harvest his own barley on swaths of fertile Irish farmland. Some, including UFC President Dana White, believe McGregor could well become a billionaire on the success of Proper No Twelve. Still, analysts caution that Jameson — and Elliott Management in particular — are not likely to throw in the towel. Jameson sales overall were up 12 percent last year. Elliott Management declined to comment for this story.<doc-sep>Conor McGregor is a whiskey "unicorn," according to his business partner Ken Austin. The Irish MMA fighter is the founder of Proper No. Twelve, a brand that's taking the drinks world by storm. The whiskey has sold almost 200,000 cases, or 2.4 million bottles in its first six months of trading and is on track to double that in its first year. McGregor was nicknamed the "Mystic Mac" of MMA because his braggadocious predictions mostly came true. Now the 30-year-old predicts that Proper Twelve will become the world's No. 1 Irish whiskey. Austin, who previously founded the tequila brand Avión, spoke with Business Insider about what McGregor is really like and how he plans to overtake Jameson. Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories. When asked about one of the most memorable moments of the past year, Proper No. Twelve whiskey cofounder Ken Austin flashed back to mid-March in Baltimore, Maryland. St. Patrick's Day weekend was approaching and it was set to be a festival of green, orange, and white; of quality Irish craic; and, in 2019 at least, Conor McGregor in fine, fist-pumping form. McGregor was about to be paraded through major American cities sitting on the roof of a Cadillac Escalade, which was custom-wrapped with the distinctive branding of his Proper Twelve whiskey. He would wave the Irish flag in one hand and hold his arms aloft like he'd just won another mixed martial arts fight (he's already won 21). But it wasn't a victory parade to mark a two-weight world-champion status in the sport, and this isn't a story about his unprecedented journey through MMA's premier cage-fighting firm, the UFC. It's a story about fierce competition against an established name, with ever-lasting legacy up for grabs. It's a competition McGregor is desperate to dominate as he takes on Big Alcohol, determined to deliver an energy-zapping kick to the liver of his biggest opponent in this new battleground — Jameson, a business that's been around for 250 years. McGregor wants his whiskey brand, Proper Twelve, to become the No. 1 Irish whiskey in the world. He doesn't just want to measure up against the best, he wants to be the best, the recognized and undisputed champion. Austin, McGregor's business partner, has gotten to know McGregor better than most, having worked closely with the fighter for more than a year. He took Business Insider behind the scenes on what the UFC star is like as a businessman, as well as what he's really like as a human being when the cameras aren't rolling. The side of McGregor nobody sees McGregor in his custom-wrapped Escalade. Instagram / Proper Twelve Austin and McGregor rode in a convoy, in separate Escalades, throughout the US just before St. Patrick's Day. Wanting Proper Twelve to be the Paddy's Day whiskey above all others, the pair promoted what they called their "liquid gold" to the "many amazing Irish communities in the US." Between cities, they decided to make an impromptu visit to Cranbrook Liquors, a liquor store just north of Baltimore. McGregor wanted to surprise the people there, buy them bottles of Proper Twelve from his own pocket, and chat with them. The store was initially quiet, but word quickly spread that there was a superstar in the neighborhood, and fans came flocking. McGregor took selfies and even signed a Harley Davidson motorcycle with a Sharpie, according to Austin. Then, Austin said a car "screeched into the parking lot." The driver was a 25-year-old woman who had her mother, brother, and others in the vehicle. The boy jumped out and called for McGregor, wanting pictures. "Conor says, 'Sure, sure, sure,' and he grabs the kid and puts his arm around him," Austin said. As more cars approached, McGregor's security detail became nervous about crowd control, and advised the Proper Twelve team to get back on the road and drive to their next stop on tour. McGregor's videographer later told Austin that the family back at the parking lot "looked like they were in need" and may have been living out of their car. When Austin told McGregor the family may have been homeless, he said his face "completely changed." "He got angry, 'Why didn't you tell me?' he said. I said, 'I didn't realize.' He said, 'Let's go back,' he wanted to go back, and he wanted to pay for a hotel and get them clothing. He said, 'We've got to find them.'" Unfortunately, the family couldn't be found, which Austin said frustrated McGregor, saddening him for a while. This is a drastically different image to the one the rest of the world has had of McGregor of late — of a post-peak athlete who has courted controversy over a recent arrest for stomping on a fan's phone, a social-media post that was called "Islamaphobic," and because of a six-month ban from fighting that resulted from the role he played in the post-event riots that marred his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 last year. A New York Times report also emerged in March suggesting McGregor was being investigated by the Irish police over a sexual-assault allegation. But Austin says none of this is the real McGregor. "Those moments that I've seen with him, a side that truly does care about people, about helping … he's pretty amazing and nobody really sees that side," Austin said. "It's what makes him special." McGregor is a whiskey 'unicorn' McGregor's business partner called him a "unicorn." Instagram / Proper Twelve The way Austin tells it, there never seems to be a dull moment when you're spending your life with McGregor. The Irishman was defeated in a landmark crossover boxing-rules contest against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, stopped on his feet in the 10th round by one of the most masterful and defensive boxers in the modern era. A loss to the unbeaten Mayweather always seemed inevitable. Still, McGregor walked into the post-fight press conference with sunglasses on and addressed the world's media while wearing a colorful suit, armed with a bottle of whiskey in hand. This man is an absolute unicorn, he really is. Pushing his loss aside, McGregor took a swig and told reporters that he intended to "take over the Irish whiskey market." He then said he had a drink that was "delicious." Read more: McGregor drowns his sorrows with a whiskey after losing to Mayweather It was at that moment that Austin realized the fighter was a rare breed and that working with him would pay dividends for years, decades, and perhaps even centuries to come. "I looked at him … this man is an absolute unicorn, he really is," Austin said. "He understands his fan base, loves his fan base, and is incredibly passionate." Austin, the founder and former chairman of the award-winning Avión tequila brand, approached McGregor's long-time manager Audie Attar, the president of the Paradigm Sports Management agency and another Proper Twelve cofounder, to say he would be eager to work with McGregor on the whiskey brand providing it wasn't something the 30-year-old just wanted to slap his name on, and that he was actually willing to work. Attar reassured Austin that McGregor was "all in." McGregor even surprised Austin, a successful 53-year-old entrepreneur, with a business lesson of his own. "What I learned from him, which I'd sort of forgotten … he always says, 'Think like a beginner,'" Austin said. "Everything you do, always think like a beginner because that's where you learn the most. He said to me, 'I'm a beginner. I want to learn, but I want to learn everything.' And I was astounded at his true desire to listen, learn, and also to say, 'Hey, I'm also going to make decisions here.'" Perfecting Proper Twelve McGregor showed off a whiskey bottle in 2017, but the branding and name have since changed. Getty Images Austin has met plenty of stars in his time. Before launching Avión, which appeared on HBO's "Entourage" and was eventually bought out by drinks giant Pernod Ricard, he was what he calls a "cab driver" for the rich and famous, a modest way of saying he ran a private aviation business where he chauffeured celebrities in the skies.<doc-sep>
An analyst has cited the success of Conor McGregor's whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve as a cause for Jameson's declining growth. Business Insider has been told that Proper Twelve has bigger plans to continue disrupting the Irish whiskey market. Proper Twelve cofounder Ken Austin said the brand will be releasing more expressions, secret innovations, and will sponsor UFC events should McGregor return to the competition. He claims Proper Twelve will finish its first year of trading as the second best-selling Irish whiskey in the US, but McGregor wants to be number one. Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories. A drinks analyst has said Jameson's growth has taken a hit because of the successful launch of Conor McGregor's Proper No. Twelve whiskey, and Business Insider has been told that the fighter plans to land further blows in the months and years ahead. Jameson, the number one Irish whiskey in the world, sold 7.3 million cases globally in the 12 months to the end of June 2018, according to The Irish Times. This was its 29th consecutive year of growth and a 12% increase from the previous year. However, Edward Mundy, an analyst with the beverage research company Jefferies, told the Irish Times in a separate article that Jameson is experiencing a "natural slowdown" since Proper Twelve bottles hit the shelves six months ago, proving extremely popular with customers. Reviews from the drinks industry, including a first tasting by Business Insider, were initially mixed, but Proper Twelve is a staple of Amazon UK's best-selling whiskies and is such a hit with US customers that the company sold six months worth of stock in its first 10 days of trading. "The informal ambition is for [Jameson owner] Pernod Ricard in the US to grow ahead of the market: if Jameson is disrupted by Proper No. Twelve, this makes this ambition harder to achieve in the near term," Mundy said. The report also said if Jameson's US growth continues to slow because potential customers might otherwise purchase Proper Twelve, "it could cause big problems" for Pernod Ricard. But that is precisely what Proper Twelve is planning, as confirmed to Business Insider by Proper Twelve cofounder Ken Austin. One of the ways Proper Twelve wants to further disrupt the Irish whiskey market will be through the release of many more expressions, something that will rival brands like Jameson which has many different types of whiskey to purchase. Austin told Business Insider that Proper Twelve will "100%" be doing this as it is something the founder Conor McGregor is "asking about all the time." Austin told us: "We have product. We have product in barrels. We're working on additional blends. And 100% there will be line extensions, that's not even a question." Proper No. Twelve is working on additional blends and innovations. Instagram / Proper Twelve Proper Twelve is already approaching 200,000 cases sold in approximately six months of trade, and claims to be on track to double that in its debut year. But Austin said that if Proper Twelve had the distribution that the brand's nearest competitor has, it would be "a million case brand" in the US alone. However, he said it's promising that people aren't just buying the whiskey once because they are fans of the mixed martial artist McGregor, a former two-weight champion in Cage Warriors and the UFC. "People who are buying it are coming back time and time again… they love the product and not just buying one bottle and saying, 'This is a Conor McGregor souvenir.'" Austin said that McGregor's whiskey is also looking at innovating, but they are tight-lipped on what those innovations are. One look at the company's website and Instagram page, which has 596,000 followers — 482,000 more than Jameson's — suggests this could come in the form of Irish coffee, or as a canned cocktail product, as both feature prominently on Proper Twelve's pages. Proper Twelve would sponsor McGregor's UFC comeback Austin is excited at the prospect of the brand dominating real estate at UFC events, and will sponsor the canvas, the edges of the UFC Octagon, or the entrance gate should McGregor return to combat sport. McGregor announced a shock resignation from mixed martial arts in March, just weeks after a statement from the UFC president Dana White who predicted the Irishman would fight twice in 2019. Last month, he appeared to tease a comeback to the sport when he told fans "see you in the Octagon."