together for customer purchase . “ If someone is willing to do a high-dollar spend , then I ’ m willing to chuck an allocated bottle into the basket ,” Patrick says .
Wine Cellar staff travel to Kentucky twice a year to pick out single barrels . However , like other retailers , Patrick and Desi have noticed that the store pick craze that took off during the Covid−19 era has cooled off somewhat post-pandemic .
“ The single barrels have slowed down overall , but they ’ re still selling every day ,” Patrick observes . “ There ’ s just not this tidal wave of buyers anymore . There are still those certain bottles that will sell out in a day , but , overall , it has noticeably tapered off .”
To what does Patrick attribute this shift in consumer purchasing ? “ People are looking for value at other price points ,” he says , “ or exploring other categories .”
TEQUILA TRENDS HEAVILY
Top of the list for those other categories that consumers are exploring these days is tequila . Agave spirits have enjoyed momentum in recent years , with no slowdown in sight .
What ’ s the consumer demographic here ? “ There ’ s some segue from burnt-out bourbon drinkers ,” Patrick says , “ as well as people escaping from the vodka category for more flavor .”
“ The premiumization of tequila has really drawn some interest ,” he adds . “ You can actually take a sip of your tequila now and enjoy it , instead of having to take a shot and choke it down .”
With so many bourbon drinkers interested in tequila , it makes sense that these customers would shop in similar ways as they would buy whiskey .
“ These clients are now building up a tequila collection ,” Patrick says . “ They try one tequila with their friends and then they come back here and they want to buy another new one .” Exploration of the category has begun . “ It used to be that these bourbon guys mostly just drank añejos , because of the oaky , sweet notes ,” Patrick says . “ But now the blanco , repo and even mezcals are starting to pick up . Even the good blancos are standing out .”
Accordingly , Wine Cellar has beefed up their tequila selection in the last few years .
“ We went from carrying 60 tequilas to carrying 140 tequilas now ,” Patrick reports . “ We ’ ve tripled our selection . And it just keeps going and going . We might have to go even bigger as demand keeps going . Especially for additive-free tequilas .”
Customers who want to taste their way through the category can find opened bottles to sample .
“ We have our sampling bar in the store ,” Patrick says . “ Lips to glass remains key .”
THC BEVERAGES TAKE OFF
As other beverage alcohol retailers report nationwide , Wine Cellar has recently seen a sharp uptick in sales for cannabis beverages .
Setting the stage for this moment was the 2019 federal
Cigars remain a popular section at Wine Cellar , as the category enjoys a bit of a renaissance .
Farm Bill , which legalized hemp and had a critical loophole . Hemp plants contain small amounts of THC ( unlike federally illegal cannabis plants , which obviously contain lots of it ). Companies can technically extract this THC from hemp plants , and legally put it into products for retail . Hence , the countrywide boom in drinks containing this derived THC , known as delta−8 .
“ Our area of the country is not well known for progressive THC laws , but these drinks are absolutely exploding right now ,” Patrick says .
Currently Wine Cellar stocks more than 100 SKUs in this red-hot category .
“ I ’ ve had to amend the doors from craft beer for THC drinks to offer more cold serve there ,” Patrick says . “ More variety means more people coming in for these products .”
The demographic for cannabis beverages “ never ceases to amaze me ,” Patrick says . “ Lots of people in the ages 30 to 49 . Lots of women . Guys in their late 40s , late 50s .”
“ There are some younger customers ,” he continues , “ but mostly its people my age , the Gen Xers . I think a lot of these www . beveragedynamics . com Fall 2024 • Beverage Dynamics 13