"I really did think at some point I'd be able to stop talking about COVID impacts but they're still there," SipSource analyst Dale Stratton told Wine-Searcher. "During that [20]21 to '23 period, there was a crazy spike in tequilas over $100. There were a whole bunch of people who couldn't travel. Their disposable income went up. They went out and bought their over-$100 tequila and had a couple sips of it. But that bottle is still sitting there. That buyer has moved down to the next price level."
Wine-Searcher combined the SipSource stats with recent consumer price index numbers and came to the conclusion that there's a growing urban population that drinks less per capita, and those urban Americans who are drinking are spending about the same amount for alcohol but "getting less bang for [their] bucks." In other words, it's the younger generation drinking less and inflation, two common excuses that seem to be proving true.
Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be much panic in the industry. Stratton thinks the sales slump will cool off and the holidays could bring a sales boost. And the domestic whiskey industry continues to build new massive new distilleries.
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