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Record liquor sales reflect Ohio’s improving economy, state officials say
Here’s a copy of a story scheduled to run in Friday’s Dayton Daily News:
State officials say a boost in liquor sales to bars and restaurants in 2011 reflects a recovering economy in a year that Ohioans spent more on liquor than ever before.
Overall sales of liquor in Ohio in 2011 reached a record $793.7 million, up $40 million — or 5.3 percent — from 2010, the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control announced Thursday. More importantly for Ohio’s economy, wholesale liquor sales to bars and restaurants — which had declined three out of the last four years as more Ohioans opted to drink at home during the recession — jumped 4.7 percent in 2011.
“This is a positive indicator for Ohio’s economy, showing that Ohioans are again patronizing restaurants and entertainment businesses,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce.
In the Dayton area, the inaugural release of Buckeye Vodka buoyed sales: The Dayton-based spirit was the highest-selling liquor of any brand at Arrow Wine & Spirits’ Kettering store and its Centerville-area store during calendar year 2011, despite its absence for the first three months of the year, the managers of both Arrow stores said. Buckeye Vodka debuted in the market on April 1.
“Of course it has a local following, so customers are going to come in to try it,” said Mif Frank, who oversees Arrow’s Kettering store.. “But it speaks to the quality of the product that people are coming back and buying it again.”
Buckeye Vodka’s sales tripled its projections in the first six months after introduction, Buckeye Vodka’s chief executive, Jim Finke, said in November. The division of liquor control said Thursday that 2,824 cases of Buckeye vodka were sold statewide in 2011, for a total of $650,611.
Despite the strong local sales, Buckeye Vodka didn’t crack the top 10 best-selling liquor brands in Ohio, which contains four other vodkas and is topped by value-brand Kamchatka vodka.
The best-sellers list illustrates how amazingly brand-loyal the state’s spirits drinkers are: The 2011 top-10 list contained the same 10 brands as the 2010 list, although there was some shuffling in the middle as Smirnoff Vodka slipped two spots. The sales figures and top 10 rankings include only liquor containing more than 21 percent alcohol, or 42 proof, and excludes beer and wine.
But there are signs that Ohioans are drinking better. Dollar sales grew at a faster pace than consumption did in 2011, the division of liquor control reported. Volume sales rose 3.9 percent in 2011, lagging behind the 5.3 percent jump in dollar sales, suggesting some drinkers may be trading up — or returning to — more expensive brands.
“As consumer tastes become increasingly more sophisticated, they tend to buy more of the premium products,” Goodman said.
The Ohio Restaurant Association is also noticing the growth and the increasing interest in luxury brands.
“Whether linked to expanded happy hour offerings or a larger selection of flavored spirits, consumers appear to be enjoying more specialty drinks and pairing their meals with more sophisticated products,” Jarrod Clabaugh, director of communications for the Ohio Restaurant Association, said in a news release.
Top-selling liquor brands in Ohio
Kamchatka Vodka
Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
Bacardi Superior Light Rum
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
Absolut Vodka
Smirnoff Vodka
Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey
Jagermeister
Korski Vodka
Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey
Source: Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control
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