In February, the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS), Washington, D.C., announced the 2015 results for the U.S. distilled spirits category. According to DISCUS, the category experienced another year of steady growth, with supplier sales up 4.1 percent, volume up 2.3 percent and estimated retail sales of nearly $72 billion in 2015. It also marked the sixth straight year of increasing market share relative to the beer category, DISCUS reports.

Additionally, it reports strong growth for every whiskey segment for the second straight year, with revenues up 8 percent. Tequila experienced sales growth of 9.4 percent, and Cognac was up 16.2 percent, it adds.