The distilled spirits industry – which, of course, includes Kentucky’s booming bourbon industry – continued its steady sales growth in 2014, the Distilled Spirits Council reported at its annual industry briefing for media and Wall Street analysts.
Supplier sales were up 4 percent in 2014 to $23.1 billion, and total U.S. volume growth increased 2.2 percent to 210 million cases. It is estimated that overall retail sales of distilled spirits in the U.S. market is nearly $70 billion, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the hospitality industry and producing over $20 billion in tax revenues for all levels of government.
Additionally, the industry achieved a slight increase in market share versus beer for the fifth straight year. Total market share gains versus beer since 2000 totaled 6.4 points with each point of market share equaling approximately $650 million in supplier sales.
“Consumer interest in industry innovations and premium products from distilled spirits producers of all sizes contributed to another year of steady growth in 2014,” said Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Peter H. Cressy. “In the U.S. market, strong consumer interest in cocktails, along with continuing market access and modernization improvements, is providing the industry with a solid base for future growth.”
Cressy cited several factors contributing to the industry’s continued growth, including growth of small distillers, which expanded grassroots and overall interest in the spirits category.
Council Chief Economist David Ozgo reported that bourbon and Tennessee whiskey volumes were up 7.4 percent to over 19 million cases, generating $2.7 billion in industry revenue; both Irish whiskey and single malt Scotch continued their rapid growth with volumes up 9.1 percent and 6.4 percent respectively; cognac volumes were also up an impressive 11.4 percent; and tequila volumes grew 5.0 percent. Ozgo also reported that while flavored vodka sales were off, traditional vodka volumes were up 3.7 percent.
“The industry anticipates its fifth straight year of record exports through a combination of market opening agreements, innovative marketing programs by individual companies and the spirits industry’s export promotion program,” LoCascio said. “Despite the strong dollar headwinds in the second half of the year, premium American spirits are finding new audiences globally, in both traditional and emerging markets.”
In addition to sales progress, Cressy also underscored that an important highlight of 2014 was the reduction of underage drinking and drunk driving in the United States. According to the federally funded 2014 Monitoring the Future survey, underage drinking and binge drinking continued their two-decade decline, once again hitting record lows in 2014. Additionally, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities decreased 2.5 percent from 2012 to 2013, according to the Department of Transportation.
From Distilled Spirits Council