What's hot in alcohol sales in the country? This is looking at growth over the past few years, not total sales. Info from Market Watch Mag.
For spirits, it's tequila and whiskey. Bourbon is the fastest growing whiskey category. Cinnamon-flavored whiskey Sazerac Fireball is the hottest seller (tastes like heaven, burns like hell, according to their website), with Woodford Reserve at a distant second. The hottest growth in tequilas is Casamigos, founded by George Clooney and a couple other entrepreneurs, now owned by drinks corporation Diageo. Gin, rum and cognac sales aren't keeping up.
In the ready-to-drink canned cocktail category, Gallo, one to never miss an opportunity, went from nowhere to the top player with several brands including High Noon and Liqs.
Wine's hot sellers are dominated by brands owned by larger companies that can gain country-wide distribution. The biggest increased in the past few years have been with Josh Cellars, Duckhorn, Bread and Butter, and Bota Box Minis. Josh Cellars went from three million cases to five million cases in four years.
Most wine sales are with the over-50 year old crowd; with the youngest drinkers going for the new ready-to-drink cocktails. At least they've moved on from White Claw. :)
Sonoma County's J Wine, known for their sparkling wines, was purchased by Gallo in 2015, and has increased production into other varietals and is more widely distributed now.
The smaller, often family run, wineries continue to say, we just can't compete with the big guys on getting into retail shops. You can support these small operations by buying directly from them. Half of all American wineries make less than 1,000 cases a year. Wineries under 10,000 cases sell mostly direct-to-consumer because they can't compete in the retail market.
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