In a recent Nielsen Insights titled “Americans Jump-Start the Holidays with Their Favorite Bottle of Vino,” the market research firm details the most popular holidays for which consumers stock up on wine, spirits and beer.
For the spirits category, Nielsen found that Christmas and New Year’s Eve are the most popular holidays for spirits sales, as the category exhibited a 79 percent spike in dollar sales in 2016 compared with an average two-week period. Consumers also showed a love for whiskey during this time period as sales increased 98 percent compared with an average two-week period.
It seems that the readers of Beverage Industry also felt the love for whiskey as 73 percent of voters named Stillhouse Spiced Cherry Whiskey their favorite new beverage in Readers’ Choice: New Product of the Month poll for November. The seasonal release is made by infusing Stillhouse Original whiskey with a blend of holiday spices, bold cherry and a hint of vanilla, the company says.
Coming in second in the monthly poll were Tommyrotter Distillery’s Triple Barrel American Whiskey and limited-edition Napa Valley Heritage Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The new releases garnered 6 percent of the vote.
Rounding out the Top 3 was a tie between Cafecito Energy Shot and Råvo Vodka, which fielded 4 percent of the vote, respectively.
Only one more monthly poll remains for the 2017 new product releases. Voting will begin Jan. 8 and end at 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 22.