Vodka takes over from long-time favorite BV whiskey as top Iowa spirit in annual report

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Move over, Black Velvet. There’s a new No. 1 liquor brand in the state, and its name is Tito’s.

After holding the spot of top brand of spirits in Iowa for about 10 years, Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey gave way to Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which outsold BV by about 40,000 gallons in the fiscal year ending June 30.

Black Velvet took over the No. 2 position, followed by Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey and Hawkeye Vodka.

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) annual report contains a wealth of information about the people of Iowa’s choices for what and where they buy their potent potables, sales and profit figures, as well as statistics on enforcement of Iowa’s liquor and beer and wine laws.

Iowa is one of 18 states that directly controls the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The ABD governs state and federal laws and regulations related to the sale and use of alcohol and tobacco products. Profits made on the sales are used for specific purposes with the rest returned to the Iowa General Fund.

ABD Administrator Stephen Larson said the division generated a record $150.1 million in revenue that went to the state general fund ($149 million) and the Iowa Economic Development Authority ($1 million).

As is typical, the total annual sales of liquor increased in the 2022 fiscal year, although at a slower rate than in previous years.

The ABD reported $431,426,201 in liquor sales for the 2022 fiscal year. That’s up 3.75% from the previous fiscal year’s sales of $415,835,178. But fiscal year 2021 had increased 13.22% from the previous year, fiscal year 2020 had increased 8.17% and fiscal year 2019 had grown 6.09%.

Despite the greater sales, the actual amount of liquor, beer and wine sold in the state were all listed as down from the previous fiscal year, although some of that may be a matter of bookkeeping rather than actual sales.

The report says that total gallons of liquor sold was down, from 6,501,295 gallons in fiscal year 2021 to 6,473,520 gallons in fiscal year 2022, a decrease of a little under half a percentage point.

Beer volume appeared to fall as well, down almost a full quarter from 96,980,405 gallons in fiscal year 2021 to just 72,940,379 gallons in the latest fiscal year, a decline of 24.79%, and total wine volume sold appeared to decline even more sharply, from 6,457,789 gallons in fiscal year 2021 to 4,763,223 gallons last fiscal year, a fall of 26.24%.

For the beer and wine sales, the amount of gallons sold is calculated by the amount of tax collected. Since the Iowa governor ordered that during the pandemic taxes and tax reporting could be deferred, that resulted in an increase in gallons report in 2021, artificially inflating that fiscal year’s numbers.

In Floyd County, total liquor sales have been trending up almost every year, with a big jump in 2020 as the pandemic hit, according to information from the ABD.

The last full year of sales was 2021, when ​​Floyd County businesses with off-premise liquor sales licenses sold $1.599 million worth of liquor, making up 26,062 gallons. That was up 6.4% in sales from 2020, when $1.502 million worth of liquor was sold in the county, but down slightly from 2020 in gallons, when 26,236 gallons were sold.

Floyd County ranked 42nd in Iowa in total liquor sales in 2021. Sales rank is a function of a county’s population and its status as a retail hub, as much as personal consumption rates. Area counties’ ranks in liquor sales for 2021 were:

• No. 84 – Worth, $441,444.
• No. 83 – Butler, $470,598.
• No. 81 – Mitchell, $547,014.
• No. 79 – Chickasaw, $611,808.
• No. 71 – Franklin, $832,977.
• No. 51 – Howard, $1.257 million.
• No. 42 – Floyd, $1.599 million
• No. 24 – Bremer, $2.500 million.
• No. 11 – Cerro Gordo, $8.899 million.

The ABD annual report also includes statistics on enforcement roles, in alcohol law compliance and tobacco law compliance.

The report said the alcohol compliance unit performed 203 investigations and conducted 163 inspections, and the tobacco compliance unit said it trained 13,890 retail staff in the state’s tobacco laws and conducted 3,371 tobacco compliance checks across the state with the help of local law enforcement.

The top five complaints regarding alcohol laws were:

1) Sale or service of alcohol to an under-age person.

2) Criminal activity on a licensed premise.

3) Sale or service of alcohol to an intoxicated person.

4) Sale or service of alcohol after legal hours of sale.

5) Bootlegging.

“Selling or serving alcohol to an under-age person was identified as the No. 1 complaint submitted to the Regulatory Compliance Bureau during Fiscal Year 22 and accounted for 60% of the complaints received,” the report said.

There were 12,211 alcohol licenses, permits and certificates active as of June 30, the report said. The vast majority of those are Class C liquor licenses, which allow commercial establishments to sell liquor, wine and beer for on-premises consumption. New state laws enacted in response to the pandemic also allow these establishments to sell carry-out liquor, wine, beer and mixed drinks or cocktails.

The next highest category, with 1,955 licenses, is Class E liquor licenses, which allows grocery stores, liquor stores and convenience stores to sell liquor, wine and beer for off-site consumption.

The top 25 liquor brands in Iowa by gallons sold in fiscal year 2022 were:

1.  Tito’s Handmade Vodka, 393,280.
2.  Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey, 353,791.
3.  Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, 282,826.
4.  Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, 270,519.
5.  Hawkeye Vodka, 195,804.
6.  McCormick Vodka, 111,822.
7.  Smirnoff Vodka, 102,212.
8.  Jack Daniels Old #7 Black Label Whiskey, 96,090.
9.  Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey, 95,136.
10.  Crown Royal Regal Apple Canadian Whiskey, 83,578.
11.  Five O’Clock Vodka, 77,477.
12.  Bacardi Superior Rum, 76,173.
13.  Blue Ox Vodka, 72,293.
14.  Malibu Coconut Rum, 71,922.
15.  Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey, 68,278.
16.  Admiral Nelson Spiced Rum, 68,262.
17.  Barton Vodka, 66,546.
18.  Seagram’s 7 Crown Whiskey, 61,319.
19. Jameson Whiskey, 58,513.
20.  Jose Cuervo Especial Reposado Tequila, 54,488.
21.  Juarez Gold Tequila, 54,151.
22.  Fris Danish Vodka, 54,021.
23.  Platinum 7x Vodka, 54,000.
24.  Barton Naturals Vodka, 50,887.
25.  Absolut Swedish Vodka 80 prf, 50,209.

The top 25 native Iowa brands by native distillers and manufacturers, by gallons sold, are:

1. Blue Ox Vodka, 72,293.
2. Gotcha Vodka, 21,681.
3. Cedar Ridge Bourbon, 15,478.
4. Swell Vodka, 7,924.
5. Prairie Fire, 4,452.
6. Gotcha Silver Rum, 3,474.
7. Sir Winston Peach, 3,324.
8. Iowish Cream Salted Caramel, 2,971.
9. Saints N Sinners Apple Pie, 2,953.
10. Blue Ox Silver Rum, 2,838.
11. Iowish Cream Liqueur, 2,474.
12. Revelton Mulberry Gin, 2,124.
13. Revelton Whiskey and Cream Liqueur, 1,960.
14. Blue Ox Gin, 1,956.
15. Gotcha Blended Whiskey, 1,597.
16. Cody Road Barrel Old Fashioned, 1,511.
17. Butchers Block Vodka, 1,479.
18. Slipknot Iowa Whiskey No. 9, 1,395.
19. Revelton Honey Whiskey, 1,382.
20. State Vodka, 1,336.
21. Cody Road Bourbon, 1,239.
22. Don Agave Gold, 1,211.
23. Bagger Vodka, 1,105.
24. Foundry Vodka, 1,026.
25. Foundry Whiskey Custom, 978.