"Flavored spirits continue to grow through 2013 and were fueled by the extraordinary sales performance of flavored blended whiskey, which more than doubled in 2013," said Chuck Ellis, CEO and president of Restaurant Sciences LLC. "While flavored blended whiskeys' popularity rose, other flavored segments including cordials and liqueurs, flavored vodkas and flavored rum softened a bit through the second quarter of 2013."
Restaurant Sciences analyzed over 4 million guest checks with on-premise spirits sales. Restaurant Sciences' findings concluded that cordials and liqueurs, including flavored Schnapps, slipped from 13.0% in the second quarter of 2012 to 12.2% in the second quarter of 2013. Flavored vodkas peaked in the third quarter of 2012 at 8.8% of on-premise spirits sales but declined to 8.1% of on-premise sales in the second quarter of 2013. Flavored rum also softened from 4.4% in the second quarter of 2012 to 4.2% of on-premise spirits sales in the second quarter of 2013.
"These latest trends show that on-premise patrons are moving away from flavored vodkas and liqueurs, to flavored whiskeys which are the new winners in spirits in 2013," said Ellis.