TOPSHAM, ME – JANUARY 19: Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy has long been the best selling liquor in Maine but in 2017, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky nips almost matched the sales of the brandy. Last year, the 1.75 liter bottle of Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy had nearly $5 million in sales compared to the $4.7 million in sales for the Fireball Cinnamon Whisky nips. Tito’s vodka came in third in sales at $3.46 million. Photographed at Bootlegger’s Beverage Warehouse in Topsham on Friday, January 19, 2018. (Staff Photo by Gregory Rec/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
What to Know
- Patrons of Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores (and online buyers) spent $2.5 billion in the 2018-19 fiscal year ending in June.
- The sales were up 3% from the prior year, according to the PLCB’s annual report.
- The 99-cent bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky had an explosive year in Pennsylvania, with a 272.8% increase in sales year-over-year.
Bottoms up!
Pennsylvanians bought more than 5.5 million mini airplane bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky last year, making it the top-selling product sold by the state's Liquor Control Board. The 99-cent bottles of cinnamon whiskey had an explosive year in Pennsylvania, with a 272.8% increase in sales year-over-year. Fireball, owned by the Sazerac Co, dropped its "Party Bucket" in summer 2018, which held 20 of those spicy 50-milliliter bottles.
As a whole, Pennsylvania had another blockbuster year of wine and spirits sales. Patrons of the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores (and online shoppers) spent $2.5 billion in the 2018-19 fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. That's up 3% from the prior year, according to the PLCB’s annual report.
The PLCB’s annual report gives a snapshot of how Pennsylvania drinks. Philadelphia County, specifically, was a big spender on wine and liquor last year, with more than $256 million in booze sold. Philadelphia alone accounted for 11.5% of all wine and spirits sales in the state last year and was only beat out by Allegheny County — home to Pittsburgh — which spent more than $300 million on wine and spirits.
See a gallery of Pennsylvania's best-selling wines and spirits on PBJ.com.
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