Just the Facts
The highly regarded Adams Handbook Advance 1998 offers the first authoritative estimates on consumption trends and specific brand performance in the beverage alcohol industry. And the results speak loud and clear about where the industry seems to be heading this year.
While overall consumption of distilled spirits totaled 137.8 million 9-liter cases in 1997, a modest decline of 0.5%, retail dollar sales increased to more than $34 billion, from $32.5 billion in 1996. This gain continues to validate a major trend during the past few years. The industry mantra of “drinking less but drinking better” has become more of a reality, as consumers continue to purchase brands — and categories — that deliver quality and prestige values. For example, cognac consumption shot up 10.5% in 1997 while single malt Scotch gained more that 16%. In addition, many well-known premium and superpremium brands continued to perform admirably, capitalizing on the sales momentum they have gathered in the past few years. Brands like Absolut, Jack Daniel’s Black, Jose Cuervo, Crown Royal, Kahl
