Drinks Trade #81 - Summer 2021/22

Vodka

VODKA A SIPPABLE SPIRIT?

THE ORIGINS OF VODKA CAN BE TRACED BACK TO RUSSIA OR POLAND AROUND THE 12TH-CENTURY. THE HULU SERIES, THE GREAT FICTIONALISING THE BALLSY LIFE OF RUSSIAN EMPRESS CATHERINE THE GREAT, FEATURES THE ARISTOCRACY OF THE RUSSIAN COURT THROWING BACK VODKA SHOTS WHENEVER REQUIRED, A KIND OF 18TH-CENTURY PROZAC IF YOU LIKE. ITS NASTY ETHANOL FLAVOUR ENCOURAGED THE ‘KNOCK IT BACK’ CONSUMPTION METHOD. THERE IS NOTHING HERE TO SIP AND SAVOUR. RIGHT? MAYBE THEN, BUT IS 21ST-CENTURY VODKA THE NEW SIPPABLE SPIRIT? For a long time, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms defined vodka as, "neutral spirit so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour." As recently as April 2020, this changed to ‘vodka is a neutral spirit which may be treated with up to 2 grams per litre of sugar and up to 1 gram per litre of citric acid with min strength of 40 % alc vol.’ It would indicate that perceptions around whether vodka has distinctive character, aroma, taste and colour are irrevocably changing, and it is giving distillers the freedom to be creative and innovative in their approach to vodka. Huzzah! Vodka remains the biggest selling white spirit despite the world’s love affair with gin and hard seltzer. Globally, revenue in the Vodka segment amounts to AU$409m in 2021 and the market is expected to grow annually by 6.83% (CAGR 20212025). In the Vodka segment, volume is

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expected to amount to 6.8ML by 2025. The market for Vodka segment is expected to show a volume growth of 3.2% in 2022. (Source:Statista.com). According to Drizly, an alcohol e-commerce platform, the biggest selling spirit in the US during the pandemic is the

independently owned Texan vodka brand, Tito’s. A US online liquor retailer told Forbes magazine it was selling a bottle every five minutes over 24 hours. Latest IWSR research shows that vodka volume in Australia grew by about +21% last year (and value increased +27%), on top of a