Brandy and
Cognac Trends For 2024
by MELISSA DOWLING
The Forbidden Fruit cocktail at Travelle Bar in Chicago highlights Daron Calvados as one of the split-base spirits .
What goes up must come down , and that ’ s been the case with the brandy and Cognac category . After consumers stocked up on the spirits during the pandemic , many have pulled back . Volume consumption for the brandy and Cognac category declined 10.2 % in 2023 to pre-Covid levels of 12.8 million 9−liter cases , according the Beverage Information Group 2024 Liquor Handbook .
In addition to competition from tequila , domestic whiskey and the readyto-drink segments , brandy and Cognac had to contend with economic pressures , as inflation put a crimp in some discretionary spending . Just one of the leading brands , Sazerac ’ s Paul Masson brandy , posted growth in 2023 , and that was a scant 0.3 %
Despite the unfavorable market conditions , Cognac in particular is a staple on bar menus around the country , says Marina Velez , research director for The Beverage Information Group . Unlike brandy , which can be made anywhere , Cognac must be produced in a specific geographic area of France , from certain types of white grapes and has different aging requirements depending on the classification , which gives the spirit cachet — and a
16 Beverage Dynamics • Winter 2024 www . beveragedynamics . com