US drinkers are continuing to cut back on their vodka, whisky and tequila intake in a sign that, despite the improved economic environment, consumers are finding higher prices hard to swallow.
The volume of spirits sold in the US in the first seven months of the year shrank 3 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to drinks data provider IWSR, with vodka, rum and Scotch whisky among the worst performers.
US spirit volumes had grown consistently at around 2.6 per cent in the two decades until 2019. They then shot up to almost 5 per cent between 2020 and 2021 as lockdowns boosted alcohol intake before falling flat the following year and dropping 2.9 per cent in 2023.