U.S. spirits industry - Statistics & Facts
Spirits are defending their crown as America's favorite alcoholic beverage. The category has been on an upward trend for decades and 2022 was the year it finally became number one. Two years later and that has not changed. The growing popularity of the beverage can be attributed to things like cocktail culture, which has left the bar scene and can be found in the off-premise in ready-to-drink beverages. The market is facing some of the same pressures as the broader alcoholic beverages industry. The next generation of consumers are drinking less. This fact coupled with looming tariff increases has injected uncertainty into the trajectory of the market.
In the longer term, consumption may decline if younger consumers continue to lose interest in alcohol. Gen Z consumers are more sober curious than previous generations but younger consumers do tend to make up a larger share of the market for spirits such as vodka and ready-to-drink beverages.
Industry segmentation
The majority of spirits sales occurred off-premise with about 242 million 9 liter cases sold, compared to about 58 million 9 liter cases sold on-premise. Broken down by category, vodka lead in terms of volume sales of the spirits industry, followed by whiskey and tequila, respectively. Value spirits, the lowest category of the price tier accounts for the bulk of sales volume, as well as the largest growth in sales value.American consumption
Per capita consumption of spirits in the United States amounted to 2.9 gallons in 2023, the highest rate of consumption in decades. In that year, the states with the highest consumption volume of distilled spirits were New Hampshire, the District of Columbia, and Nevada. Consumption of spirits is forecast to grow an additional 10 percent between 2024 and 2026.In the longer term, consumption may decline if younger consumers continue to lose interest in alcohol. Gen Z consumers are more sober curious than previous generations but younger consumers do tend to make up a larger share of the market for spirits such as vodka and ready-to-drink beverages.
