Although the vodka sub-category remains the No. 1 segment in terms of volume sales, whiskey has become so popular that it is beginning to take over as the No. 1 spirit on a dollar sales basis, according to Bump Williams Consulting’s monthly wine and spirits report, which cites Chicago-based SymphonyIRI data.
“Vodkas used to be the single biggest piece of the pie, and vodka still is in terms of the volume basis … but on a dollar basis, whiskey is the single biggest segment of the spirits category,” says Bump Williams, chief executive officer and president of the Stratford, Conn.-based company. “That is a massive shift.”