Record liquor sales reflect Ohio's improving economy, officials say

Ohio’s top-selling liquor brands:

Source: Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control

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 important for Ohio’s economy, wholesale liquor sales to bars and restaurants — which 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 introduction of Buckeye Vodka buoyed sales: The Dayton-based spirit was the highest-selling liquor of any brand at both Arrow Wine & Spirits’ Kettering and Centerville stores in 2011, despite its absence for the first three months of the year, according to managers at both stores. 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, manager of the Arrow store in Kettering.

“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.

The sales figures and top-10 rankings include only liquor containing more than 21 percent alcohol, or 42 proof, and exclude 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 to— or returning to — more expensive brands.

“As consumer tastes become increasingly more sophisticated, they tend to buy more of the premium products,” Goodman said.