Non-Alc Spirits, Brunello di Montalcino, Hard Soda Grew in June on Drizly

Nonalcoholic spirits led liquor category growth on Drizly, the company said.  Top-selling brands include Seedlip, St. Agrestis, Ritual, Lyre’s, and Ghia.

Within the beer category, an emerging hard alternative, hard soda, saw high year-over-year gains. The top-seller last month was Not Your Father’s Root Beer followed by Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer.

Gifts of liquor were apparently popular on Father's Day, holding 65% of gift sales share, followed by 28% for wine and 6% for beer. This is a dramatic difference from Mother’s Day 2023 gifting trends, when wine held 66 percent of gift sales share, Drizly said.

Scotch whisky held the most share for gifts on Father’s Day at 29% (though it was down from last year’s 33%), followed by bourbon at 25% (which was up from last year’s 19%). Añejo tequila (6% of share) and Japanese whisky (5% of share) were both flat, while reposado tequila (5% of share) was down from 7% last year, Drizly said.

Breakout Brands

Mi Campo Tequila experienced high year-over-year growth on Drizly within the spirits industry last month. The Mi Campo Reposado Tequila was the bestseller last month, followed by their blanco tequila and two RTD options: Mi Campo Blanco Tequila Spicy Jalapeño Margarita and Mi Campo Reposado Tequila Mango Mule.

Simply Spiked, which launched in 2022, experienced breakout growth within the beer category in June. The brand has pushed the hard lemonade category forward in the past year, and sales last month were driven by the variety pack, peach, and strawberry flavors.

Buoyed by the “better for you” trend among consumers, zero-sugar, organic, vegan wine brand Bellissima (which is also backed by model and actress Christie Brinkley) experienced strong growth within the wine category. Its Zero Sugar Brut Sparkling Wine was a bestseller, followed by the Zero Sugar Pinot Grigio and Zero Sugar Rosé.

Is Lager on the Rebound?

First it was craft beers, the alternatives like hard seltzer.  It almost seemed that lager (and the firms that brew them) were doomed to die by a thousand cuts.  In June, Drizly found lager held 42% share of the beer category, up from 38% in June 2022.  Within the lager category, light lager leads at 45% of share, followed by American-style lager at 18% and pilsner at 15%.