These Are The Most Popular Alcoholic Beverages During The Coronavirus Lockdown

Much has been written about the surge in alcohol delivery over the past two months. There’s nothing surprising about the trend. On lockdown, with little other options, Americans are seeking such services in record number. Throughout March—in the immediate wake of nationwide shelter-in-place orders—Nielsen recorded a 243% sales increase in alcoholic beverage delivery compared to the same period in 2019. And what are all of these confined consumers cracking open? Let’s just say, it’s not exactly the high-end stuff.

According to both Drizly and GoPuff, White Claw is king. The hard seltzer is crushing it as the number one seller nationally for the delivery platforms. Even sites such as Minibar, which skew more towards wine and liquor drinkers, can’t keep enough of the Claw on its digital shelves.

For whiskies, housebound hooch hounds are turning to liquids in the $18-$25 price range. Jack Daniels and Jim Beam white label were already top sellers before the pandemic. Now current buying trends are solidifying their stance at the top of popularity contest.

Same goes for vodka. Earlier this year, Tito’s had overtaken Smirnoff as the top-selling spirit in the US. Now it is creating separation, spurned on—at least initially—by erroneous reports that the Texas-based liquor could be used as an alternative to hand sanitizer. You’re better off using it in a Moscow Mule. The Austin, Texas-based brand is averaging well over a million cases sold per week. That’s more than virtually any craft band would sell in a year.

In terms of overall percentages, hard liquor is outpacing its wine and beer counterparts—with off-premise sales now up 75% compared to 66% and 42% jumps for the other two segments, respectively. When they’re not pouring vodka, drinkers are also turning increasingly towards premixed cocktails; the so-called ‘ready-to-drink’ category. Popular rands such as Cutwater Spirits and The Longdrink are observing a sustained uptick in consumption throughout the month of April.

And then there’s tequila. Mexican spirit sales are up dramatically compared to the same time last year. As the Cinco de Mayo holiday approaches, expect those numbers to climb further still. Leading the charge are the perennial favorites, Patrón, Sauza and Jose Cuervo. Casamigos—the label famously started by A-lister, George Clooney—is also benefiting from boosted sales during lockdown.

In the wine aisle, Californian producers are crushing the competition. Online retailer, Vivino, reports nine of its ten top-selling bottles over the past month are from the West Coast—including a pinot noir out of Oregon. The one outlier: a 2017 malbec from Catena, an Argentinian producer. Aside from geographic concentration, the labels all have another commonality—they hover around the $20 price point.

Traditionally, the mantra for home sipping has been ‘drink better, not more.’ COVID-19 spending habits suggest that—for the time-being, at least—this philosophy on hold.