Spirits sales boosted

It seems that consumers are showing a renewed enthusiasm for spirits in bars,restaurants and clubs according to CGA. Over the last year Malt Whisky, sparkling wine and liqueurs enjoyed double-digit growth, but beer sales have seen a fall of 7%, and wine sales also dropped 2%. What is also encouraging though is the spirit results for the 12 weeks to 25th January – with the only category showing a dip being liqueurs. Indeed the value of sales of Vodka grew 7%, Rum +2%, Imported whisky +4%, Gin +7% and Malt Whisky +6%. While Blended whisky, which saw a volume decrease of 5%, managed to remain neutral when it came to the value of its sales – seeing neither a decrease, nor an increase.

In its summary CGA said that Spirit sales were up by 1% over the year, and wine sales were down 2%, but sparkling wine sales grew 11% over the same period. The analysts pointed out that Old World Wines saw an increase in sales, while New World wines generally saw a decrease in sales, with the exception of South African wines. They also singled out Gin, saying, “Gin sales have gone from strength to strength, benefitting from the increased stocking of premium brands.”