“ At one point, the business was booming as nothing else, but now it has again become very challenging to maximize sales due to
several independent variables.”
Socialize, a perennial Top 100 Retailer located in Maryland, combines the on- and off-premise.
complicated matters. Elsewhere, folks who bought into the bourbon boom during and right after the pandemic have filled up their basement bunkers and are now purchasing fewer bottles. The whiskey industry now seems in a spot where craft beer was about a decade ago, overexpanded as consumption levels head the wrong direction. Contraction is already happening as businesses pull back.
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“ Currently, the alcohol business has definitely shifted back gears after we saw the increase in the pandemic,” observes Gundeep“ G” Singh, owner of Socialize, a perennial Top 100 Retailer located in Maryland.“ At one point, the business was booming as nothing else, but now it has again become very challenging to maximize sales due to several independent variables. Market competition, changing trends, social economic factors to name a few.”
Some of the Socialize locations combine liquor stores with a next-door nightclub, meaning sees the full scope of current consumer alcohol trends.
“ It is very evident that Gen Zs are becoming more health conscious,” he says.“ Eating right, exercising and dieting is the new way of living a healthy lifestyle, completely opposite from binge-drinking at football games or crushing those 2−1 happy hour cocktails after a long day of work.”
“ Along with diet and exercise, consumers obviously find it more beneficial to drink juices, protein shakes and other low-calorie drinks, which has resulted in the popularity of brands like GNC, RawJuice, Smoothie King and Jamba,” he adds.
On the topic of“ Does Gen Z Drink?” Quinton Jay, founder and owner of Bacchus Wine & Spirits, a Top 100 Retailer based in Millbrae, CA, had this to say, during a recent episode of our industry podcast, On & Off:
“ Younger people don’ t have a drinking problem; they have a marketing problem. We’ re not marketing to them correctly. It’ s a bunch of old guys like me who are marketing to them, and they’ re like,‘ I’ m not buying that’. So how do we bridge that gap?”
“ They’ re still buying,” he added of Gen Z.“ They definitely buy less. They buy better quality. They’ re more informed. They’ re very smart about fake brands. They like authentic. They like hearing the story, and why is this bottle on the shelf? This is what small retailers can do.”
The whiskey industry remains in its correction. Jay has a saying that $ 40 is the new $ 50 in the bourbon market. During the podcast episode, he further explained:
“ When bourbon was coming up really hot, people were still exploring. And people used price as an indicator of quality, right or wrong. At that time,
“ At one point, the business was booming as nothing else, but now it has again become very challenging to maximize sales due to
several independent variables.”
- Gundeep“ G” Singh, owner of Socialize
it was easier to sell a bottle of bourbon above $ 50 than it was below $ 50. But now in the economy, people are a little bit more careful with their dollars. And people have tried a lot of bourbons and they’ re getting smarter, they’ re getting their own taste. And when people start having their opinions about things, they start looking for a little bit of value. And I think that’ s why we’ re seeing a reset in that category.”
While whiskey has slipped, tequila
22 Beverage Dynamics • Fall 2025 www. beveragedynamics. com