U.S. Alcoholic Beverage Market – Overview
In 2023, the beverage alcohol category sold nearly 2.8 billion nine-liter cases. Spirits accounted for 42.2% of the value share, and wine had just over 16% share. In volume terms, wine and spirits accounted for 12% and 11% of sales, respectively.
Distilled spirits are the fastest-growing category, with a 5.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over a five-year period. The largest sub-category of spirits is vodka, with 26% of cases sold, followed by whiskey with 22%. However, tequila and RTDs rapidly increased their share of the category over the last year, with volumes rising by 6% and 35%, respectively.
Over 75% of wine cases sold are domestically produced wines, while approximately 24% are imported wines. Champagne and sparkling wines make up almost 8% of wine volume.
U.S. MARKET UNIVERSE OF WINE AND SPIRITS
U.S. Wine Sales by Volume 2023
U.S. Spirits Sales by Volume 2023
Spirits Lead Category Growth Over Wine
Spirits segment volumes have grown at a 3.7% CAGR over the last 10 years, while the wine segment has seen slower volume growth at 0.5%.
U.S. Alcohol Retail Sales by Volume
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
STATE CONSUMPTION BREAKDOWN
Open States account for 81% of wine sales and 80% of spirits sales; the remainder are sold into control states. The largest markets for spirits are California, Florida, and Texas. The largest wine markets are California, Florida, and New York.
Volume of Spirits Sold in Open & Control States (2023)
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
Open States with Most Wine Sales (2023)
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
Control States with the Most Spirits Sales (2023)
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
Millions, 9L Cases
Source: Beverage Information Group, Park Street Analyses
SMALLER BRANDS HAVE BEEN GAINING SHARE
Over the last decade, craft distillers have been gaining an increased share of the overall U.S. spirits market. From 2017 to 2022, craft spirits volumes grew from 3.2% to 4.9%, while values grew to 7.7% from 4.6%. However, 2023 saw the segment take a slight step back in share, with value dropping to 7.5% share and volume seeing a dip down to 4.6%.
Craft Distiller Sales as a Share of Total U.S. Spirits Volume and Value (2023)
Source: TTB, ACSA, IWSR, State ABC Boards, State Guilds, Team Analyses
Premium Sector Driving Spirits’ Value Growth
Source: IWSR
Spirits sales at the Premium price tier ($22.50 to $30.50 per 750mL bottle) lost momentum in 2023, contrasting with a persistent growth trend in the Super-Premium price tier ($30 to $45 per 750mL bottle) and above, which has been expanding consistently for two decades, with only brief interruptions during the 2009 global financial crisis and the first year of Covid in 2020.
Super-premium spirits are now attracting a more diverse consumer base of younger, increasingly female middle-income drinkers with adventurous tastes and a strong connection to cocktail culture, complementing the traditional older, male, higher-income market segment.
Share of Total vs. Super-Premium+ Spirits
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