AMERICANS LOVE THEIR FLAVORED WHISKIES

THE IMBIBING TRENDS du jour may change on a dime but one thing is certain: we Americans love our spirits flavored, and increasingly flavored whisky. Restaurant Sciences, an independent firm that tracks food and beverage product sales throughout the foodservice industry in North America, reports that on-premise flavored spirits sales continue to rise. “Flavored spirits continue to grow through 2O13 and were fueled by the extraordinary sales performance of flavored blended whiskey, which more than doubled in 2O13,” said CEO and President Chuck Ellis. The firm analyzed over 4 million guest checks with on-premise spirits sales. Restaurant Sciences’ findings concluded that cordials and liqueurs, including flavored Schnapps, slipped from 13 percent in the second quarter of 2O12 to 12.2 percent in the second quarter of 2O13. Flavored vodkas peaked in the third quarter of 2O12 at 8.8 percent of on-premise spirits sales, but declined to 8.1 percent in the second quarter. Flavored rum also softened from 4.4 percent in the second quarter of 2O12 to 4.2 percent of on-premise spirits sales in the second quarter of 2O13. “These latest trends show that on-premise patrons are moving away from flavored vodkas and liqueurs, to flavored whiskeys which are the new winners in spirits in 2O13,” said Ellis.