Sales of Jameson whiskey rose 13 per cent in the first half of the year despite a poor performance in its homeland.

The strong appetite for the Irish spirit in the US, where sales increased 19 per cent in the six months to the end of June, helped offset a "slight" decrease in Irish sales, said Richard Burrows, director general of Pernod Ricard, the owner of Irish Distillers which produces the whiskey.

"The drinks market as a whole has been poor in Ireland," said Mr Burrows, attributing the bad performance of Jameson to the 42 per cent increase in excise duty that was added to spirits in 2003, as well as the introduction of the pub smoking ban. But the Irish market remained an important one for Pernod Ricard, he said, and the company would continue promoting its other products such as Jacob's Creek wine and Huzzar vodka in the Republic.

Pernod Ricard, which this week completed its £7.6 billion purchase of rival Allied Domecq, yesterday reported an 8 per cent increase in worldwide sales in its core wines and spirits division to €1.65 million in the six months to the end of June.