BY KYLE SWARTZ
16 Beverage Dynamics • May 2023 lion cases ) and Barton ' s Vodka (+ 1.4 %, 1.93 million cases ). Both hail from Sazerac Company , which remains much on the mind of consumers these days thanks to its red-hot whiskey portfolio .
Also among the gainers was Deep Eddy . This flavor-focused , all-natural vodka was bought by Heaven Hill in 2015 , after the brand rapidly sprung up in Austin in 2010 . Founded by a former winemaker , Deep Eddy is named for the oldest swimming pool in Texas — a 1900s-era attraction still operating along the banks of the Colorado River . Another entrepreneurial story steeped in Americana , coming from the hometown of Tito ’ s .
So what does it take for a vodka brand , established or smaller , to succeed in this modern market ?
READY TO DRINK The rapid rise of ready to drink ( RTD ) and ready to serve ( RTS ) beverages in the past few years has benefitted vodka .
“ The market remains vibrant , propelled by both vodka-based RTD and RTS , which are recruiting new drinkers into the category ,” says Aleco Azqueta , Grey Goose , Vice President of Marketing , North America .
Accordingly , the brand recently launched Grey Goose RTS Classic Martini Cocktail in a bottle . High-end vodka-based products like that are more on the consumer ’ s radar now thanks to RTDs .
“ As RTDs come into wider use , and people drink more spirits and less beer , vodka ’ s premiumization stretches beyond the bottle and into the can ,” says Shaun Meglan , Texas Mixologist and Director of Product Education at Southern Glazer ’ s Wine & Spirits . “ People spend twice as much on a nice vodka in a canned cocktail than they do for a single beer .”
It helps that vodka is a clean and easy spirit to work with in cocktails , lending itself perfectly for the kind of canned drinks consumers prefer nowadays .
“ The increasing health consciousness of consumers drives the rise of low-abv sprits and the desire for convenience is driving the growth of RTDs ,” says Damola Timeyin of the South African brand Vusa Vodka . “ Both continue to have a positive impact on the vodka category , as we see the emergence of hard seltzers and RTD formats . Fortunately , vodka is a spirit that benefits from its versatility , allowing vodka brands to take odka remains a robust alcohol category . With 80.6 million 9-liter cases sold in the U . S . last year ( according to our data team at the Beverage Information and Insights
Group ), vodka ’ s size can be to its detriment . Compared with 2021 results , the category was relatively flat with a . 07 % decline . But that big size obviously does count for much . Especially for leading brands . Vodka is a category dominated by loyal consumer followings .
Perhaps no other alcohol brand defines our modern era more than Tito ' s Handmade Vodka . Independently owned , American-branded , an entrepreneurial success story from the hyper-trendy city of Austin , Tito ’ s is still growing . It was up 5.4 % at a time when many competitors saw numbers in the opposite direction , reaching an astounding 11.6 million cases .
Coming in second place was Smirnoff . This classic brand that introduced much of America to the vodka cocktail , Smirnoff shrunk a modest 1.8 % last year to 8.6 million cases .
New Amsterdam Vodka finished in third with a 3.7 % haircut that landed the Gallo product at 5.8 million cases .
After those three domestic brands , the next two top-sellers in vodka in 2022 were imports . Svedka was down 4.5 % for 4.38 million cases , while Absolut rounded out the top five with 3.12 million cases after a 1.8 % decline .
Big brands that achieved growth last year included Platinum 7X (+ 2.8 %, 1.99 milwww . beveragedynamics . com