The Distilled Spirits Council, a trade organization for producers of distilled spirits, just released their annual report on how spirits are doing relative to the other alcoholic beverages. Vodka continues to lead the spirits parade, with rum in second and tequila in third.
While beer continues to be the most popular adult beverage, spirits once again took market share from beer, which was up 4% by sales in 2011 over 2010. According to their figures, beer currently enjoys 49.3% of the alcohol market, with spirits having 33.6% and wine 17.1%. [Note: I can’t account for the 0.1% difference in the two charts. They’re supposedly taken from the same source, though the one below is directly from the Distilled Spirits Council.]
While 49.3% sounds pretty good, the year before it was 49.8%
And in 2000, only 11 years ago, it was 55.5%, meaning beer has lost 6.2% marketshare in just over a decade. Hey, beer people; you’re just not pulling your weight. Drink a few more beers tonight. A can (or bottle or pint) a day, that’s all we ask.