Ohio liquor sales level off; volume down first time in years, revenue up a hair

Last year saw those agencies sell 17 million gallons of liquor, a nearly 1.8% decrease from the 17.3 million gallons sold in 2021, but up 1.2% from the 16.8 million gallons sold in 2020, according to Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control data.

That’s still enough to fill almost 26 Olympic-size swimming pools ... or 1.45 billion shot glasses.

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

“As evidenced by the expected increase in revenue and the slight decrease in gallonage, premiumization, a trend of buying higher-priced items, is something that we’re continuing to see,” said Kristen Castle, brand manager for the Division of Liquor Control. “That is to say, the national trend of purchasing higher-priced products holds true in Ohio as well.”

Jignesh (Jay) Patel, co-owner of Centerville Liquor & Wine, said the initial surge in sales during the first part of the pandemic saw shoppers emptying shelves, a mania that has since subsided. But even with fewer people having to stay at home or work from home, revenues have continued to rise.

Last year Patel saw sales increase 10% compared to 2021, which he said continued a upward trend of sales increasing each year since the 5,500-square-foot store opened in the Centerville Square Shopping Center in late 2019. Prior to that store, Patel owned and operated a location in Sugarcreek Twp. for about six years.

“I think it’s more to do with the bourbon craze,” Patel said of the profitable progression. “We get, every day, so many new customers who are trying to get into trying new liquor, bourbon more than all the others. There are so many good bourbons coming out and I think more and more people are going towards that.”

Ohio Liquor is a partnership between the Ohio Division of Liquor Control and JobsOhio Beverage System (JOBS), formed to use the profits from the sale of high-proof liquor in Ohio to fund job creation and bring new capital investment to the state, according to OHLQ.

JOBS supplies the products to OHLQ stores and owns the profits from the sale of all high-proof liquor in the state. It uses those profits, not taxes, to provide funding for JobsOhio, a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to Ohio’s economic development, OHLQ said.

Ohio has four listing periods per year where product manufacturers can submit to sell high-proof spirits in the state. This month is slated to see the rollout of 109 new products, including 74 new whiskies and 14 new tequila products, with the remainder divided between gin, rum, brandy and cordials.

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

The pandemic saw sales shift from wholesale to retail as restaurants and bars closed or significantly curtailed their hours and consumers turned to liquor stores to create cocktails at home.

As various restrictions lifted, overall sales growth from year to year continued in the single digits, Castle said.

“Minus the anomaly years of 2020 and 2021, we’re seeing things return to a new normal,” she said. “Relatively speaking, the market is also returning to (its) normalcy.”

One “happy surprise” is the trending shift from other categories to tequila, which in 2022 saw the largest dollar growth of all categories and driven solely by volume sales (6.7%), Castle said.

The spirit also was one of three types to see growth in terms of the amount of gallons sold.

That growth trend has been happening for more than five years, Castle said. American Whiskey is the largest category in terms of dollars, but second to tequila in growth and mostly driven by premiumization/pricing, she said.

Another surprise is seeing Ohio rise to the fourth largest whiskey market in the country, Castle said.

That was readily apparent Friday morning as people lined up outside Centerville Liquor & Wine to get the latest allocated bourbon.

Vodka continues to be the shop’s biggest seller, and sales of tequila and other agave-based spirits continues to grow rapidly, Patel said.

“People are sort of branching out and seeing new kinds of things besides just bourbon and scotch,” he said. “We do our best to keep our shelves stocked and get what our customers request.”

Top 20 brands sold in Ohio (by dollars)

Top 20 brands sold in Ohio (by volume)

American Whiskey: Ohio’s top 10 brands for 2022

Vodka: Ohio’s top 10 brands for 2022

Tequila: Ohio’s top 10 brands for 2022