Preliminary figures from the IWSR U.S. Beverage Alcohol Review database showed the top-selling spirit in the U.S. in 2019 was Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The brand grew by more than 20% in volume in 2019. Vodka remained the largest spirit category by volume in the country. The second-place top-selling brand was Smirnoff vodka, which was formerly number one. Brown-Forman’s Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey was the third best-selling spirit brand in the U.S. last year, followed by Fireball and Crown Royal. Total alcohol consumption in the U.S. grew 0.3% by volume in 2019, with a $167 billion increase of 2.5%. Spirits consumption was up 2.3% in volume, led by growth in mezcal (40%), Japanese whisky (23.1%), Irish whiskey (8.6%), tequila (9.3%), U.S. whiskey (5.5%) and Cognac (4%). Wine consumption in the U.S. fell for the first time in 25 years, with a 0.9% volume drop in 2019, and beer also decreased for the fourth year in a row, falling by 2.3%, while cider declined by 3.8%. The ready-to-drink category volume growth of 49.7% last year is attributed mainly to hard seltzers.