The US Distilled Spirits Council on continued growth
US spirits sales reached US$27.2 billion in 2017 compared to $26.2 billion in 2016, an increase of $1 billion or 3.8%, while volume grew by 2.6%, to 226 million cases.
Spirits took a market share of 36%, said the council.
The top five growth markets for US spirits in 2017 were: the UK: up $55.7 million to $117.9 million, an increase of 45.6%,
Germany: up $ million to $123.5 million, an increase of 22.4%,
Brazil: up $18.9 million to $29.1 million, or +185%,
France: up $15.7 million to $114.1 million, or +16%,
Spain: up US$14.5 million to $117.1 million or +14.1%.
Key drivers of growth included American Whiskey, up 8.1 percent or $252 million to $3.4 billion; Tequila, up 9.9 percent or $246 million to $2.7 billion; Cognac, up 13.8 percent or $200 million to $1.6 billion; and Irish Whiskey, up 12.8 percent or $114.8 million to $897 million.
Vodka, the sector’s largest category and representing one-third of all volume, had another solid year with volumes up 2.2 percent and revenues up 3 percent to $6.2 billion. Vodka sales were paced by high-end premium products with revenue growth of more than 15 percent to $1.6 billion.
