Thursday, June 19, 2025

Is tequila about to become the United States’ favorite liquor?

Tequila could become the United States’ best-selling liquor in the coming years if the strong sales growth it recorded in 2021 continues.

Data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (Discus) shows that tequila and mezcal sales increased 30.1% last year to US $5.2 billion. All but 2% of that revenue came from tequila sales.

The agave-based spirits category was the second highest selling category after vodka, sales of which increased by a more modest 4.9% to $7.3 billion. Vodka has been the United States’ favorite liquor since the 1970s.

The tequila/mezcal category was also the second fastest growing spirit category after premixed cocktails, which recorded growth of 42.3% to total sales of $1.6 billion.

Discus spokeswoman Christine LoCascio said that premium tequilas are contributing to the strong growth of agave-based spirits in the United States.

“It’s not just for margaritas,” she said at the trade association’s annual economic briefing last week.

“There are so many high-end tequilas that you can sip and savor like many other high-end products, like whiskeys and cognacs and bourbons and high-end rums as well.”

The CEO of multinational beverage firm Diageo, whose brand portfolio includes Don Julio and Casamigos tequilas, made similar remarks during a recent earnings call.

“The category’s appeal across demographics is significant,” Ivan Menezes said.

“It has crossed over. The multicultural growth is very strong. It cuts across age segments, it cuts across gender. … It’s not just shots and margaritas as it used to be many years ago,” he said.

Menezes predicted that tequila sales will grow more quickly than the spirits sector as a whole during the next five to 10 years.

Diageo’s tequila sales increased 56% in the last three months of 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier.

LoCascio said that mezcal sales are also growing but noted that the spirit – made with any type of maguey – is “still a very small portion” of the broader agave category it shares with tequila, made exclusively from blue agave.

With reports from CNBC 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
people collecting seaweedat the beach

Is sargassum a problem today along the Quintana Roo coast? Yes and no

0
Even with all the gloomy predictions of a sargassum invasion, there are some Riviera Maya beaches, including in Cancún, that are sargassum-free this summer.

Hurricane Erick gaining strength as it heads for Guerrero and Oaxaca coasts 

0
The Category 2 hurricane is expected to make landfall somewhere between Acapulco and the Oaxaca city of San Pedro Mixtepec on Wednesday night.
At the G7, Sheinbaum appeared between French President Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an official leaders' photo.

Mexico-Canada relations take center stage during Sheinbaum’s G7 visit

2
Both President Sheinbaum and Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized their support for the USMCA and said they were interested in the idea of holding a trilateral meeting that included Trump.