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The US is about to have a new best-selling liquor

Barkeep, give me a whiskey!
By Rick Couri
Oct 20, 2014

Lack of color, and some would say flavor, didn’t stand in the way of vodka ruling the hooch market for years. But it’s predicted the Russian favorite will soon be overtaken by whiskey.

Yep, good old Doc Holliday, cowboy saloon, whiskey.

A Credit Suisse analyst note says the jump to amber-colored spirts comes as people want more "authenticity, heritage, and taste" in their libations.

It’s also termed a "generational rejection."

Quartz writes cost isn't an issue as party goers seem to be willing to part with a few more coins because "they seem more interesting in flavor and history.

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Thirty years ago, vodka was touted as being “inoffensive and inexpensive."

But Faded Industry says the old standby didn't want to grow stale, and distillers began making their vodka in flavors like lemon, lime and cranberry. Then things really got crazy with offerings of smoked salmon, buttered popcorn, and peanut butter and jelly vodka.

Whiskey makers have tossed out some flavors of their own, and it seems to have worked.

Nielsen research says flavored whiskey spurred as much as 75 percent of the growth seen in the whiskey category for calendar year 2012.

More here.

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Rick Couri

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