Liquor, thou art crowned queen of the alcohols

Spirit sales surpassed beer in market share last year for the first time ever, according to a new industry report based on supplier revenues. And though the switch has been coming for a while, the journey to get here has arguably been longer than Shrek’s trek across deserts and mountains to rescue Fiona.

For the previous 12 years, spirits had been gaining market share on beer. But in 2022, they finally got the monkey off their back – but juuuuuuust by a little bit.

• Spirit sales hit a record $37.58 billion last year, a 5.1% year-over-year increase. Beer sales, which include hard seltzers, clocked in at $37.46 billion.
• That works out to give spirits a 42.1% market share in the US, vs. 41.9% for beer (wine holds the other ~16%).

🍺🍸 Big picture: Even though beer’s market share is shrinking, revenue is still increasing. But America’s consumption habits are shifting – away from the type of beer you’d want to day-drink in college, and towards more premium craft beers. Sales of craft beer jumped 8% year-over-year in 2021, compared to just a 1% increase in overall beer sales.

And the premium alcohol trend carries over to spirits, too. The AP reports that more than 60% of the spirit sector’s total US revenue last year came from sales of high-end and super-premium spirits, mostly led by tequila and American whiskey.