According to data, total alcohol volume in the US has declined by 0.8 percent in the last year. Spirits sales, however, have risen due to the 4.1 percent and 8.5 percent increases in whisky and tequila respectively. Cognac and Armagnac also rose 5.6 percent and brandy 1.7 percent. The leader in the spirits category was mezcal, which rose 32.4 percent in the past year. On the other hand, wine consumption only grew by 0.4 percent and beer was down 1.5 percent, despite being the dominating beverage in the alcohol market. Although there has been an overall decline in alcohol consumption, consumers are starting to experiment with the other categories.
Source: WSWA SmartBrief, January 2019