Spirits sales in control states end 2025 in decline
Despite a rise in canned cocktail and Tequila sales in US control states in December, total spirits sales decreased by volume and value in 2025.
The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA), which represents the states that directly control the distribution and sale of alcohol within their borders, releases monthly data covering spirits volume and value sales across 18 US markets. It also does the same for wine across the category’s 12 control states.
For full year 2025, control state spirits sales were down by 1.4% in volume and by 2.8% in value. For December alone, volumes rose by 1.4% year on year.
According to NABCA data, spirits sales across all control states dipped by 1.8% in value in December 2025, compared with the same month in 2024.
NABCA attributed the volume gain in December to the 10 additional selling days of 2025 versus last year.
It noted that Michigan and Utah each benefited from three extra days, while Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, and North Carolina each added one day.
Excluding these extra selling days, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wyoming, Iowa, and Montgomery County also delivered positive nine-litre volume performance in December.
NABCA highlighted that growth for total spirits in December was led by the ‘cocktails’ category (predominantly canned ready-to-drink products), cordials (liqueurs) and Tequila.
The cocktails segment rose by 22.8% in volume and by 22.2% in value. Tequila volumes grew by 3.3%, but its value dipped by 0.7%.
Volume-wise for December, the biggest decreases came from Scotch (down by 10.1%), Irish whiskey (down by 5.7%), rum (down by 5.1%) and brandy/Cognac (down by 4.7%).
When it came to value sales, Scotch suffered the most with a 9.6% drop. Irish whiskey was down by 6.1% in value for December, while brandy/Cognac decreased by 6%.
Meanwhile, American whiskey, gin, and Scotch were the only segments to sustain a positive price mix.
Full-year spirits performance
In terms of the 2025 full year, only the cocktails segment and Tequila delivered volume and value growth. Cocktails (which include ready-to-drink) were up by 23.2% in volume for 2025 and by 22.6% in value.
Tequila’s full-year growth was much smaller, rising by 2.2% in volume and by 0.8% in value.
The biggest full-year volume drops once again came from Scotch (down by 8.3%), followed by neutral grain spirit (down 8%) and brandy/Cognac (down 7.9%).
Cognac/brandy decreased the most in value sales for 2025, falling by 9.9%.
When considering the on-premise, spirits sales rebounded in December, up by 3.2% in volume and by 1.3% in value. NABCA noted there were positive volume results in 10 out of the 14 markets.
However, the category’s full-year on-trade performance remained slightly negative, dipping by 0.3% in volume and down by 2.1% in value.
By region, only Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wyoming recorded spirits volume drops for December.
For the 2025 full year, only four states posted spirits volume growth: Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and Utah.
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