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This Is the Most Popular Spirit In North Carolina In 2019

This graphic shows the revenue distribution from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to agencies across the state.
ABC Commission

The meteoric rise of Tito's Handmade Vodka continues in North Carolina as the clear alcohol held the top two spots of highest sales across the state in 2019, up from two of the top three in 2018.

Tito's 750 milliliter bottles were the No. 1 selling spirit in North Carolina in the 12 months through October, and Tito's 1.75L bottles were the No. 2 seller in that period, the most recent month for which full data are available. Those are both up more than 20% compared with the previous year at a time when other vodkas like Smirnoff, Burnett's and Aristocrat saw year-over-year declines, according to data provided by the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission..

Overall, vodkas remain incredibly popular compared with all other spirits, as 13 of the top 21 selling brands were vodkas. While not as popular in terms of total sales, tequilas saw larger gains in the past year than many other spirits. Sales of Jose Cuervo Especial Gold were up 9%, and sales of Patron Silver were up 17% compared with last year.

In total, the top 100 brands sold a total of 2.9 million liters of spirits this year, up about 4.5% from 2018.

Below is a quick look at the top 10 selling brands of this year. Click here to see a full listing of the top 100.

Rank / Product / Size:

  1. Tito’s Handmade Vodka – .75L
  2. Tito’s Handmade Vodka – 1.75L
  3. Smirnoff 80 (PET) – 1.75L
  4. Burnett’s Vodka 80 – 1.75L
  5. Pinnacle – 1.75L
  6. Aristocrat Supreme Vodka – 1.75L
  7. Platinum 7X – 1.75L
  8. Hennessy VS – .75L
  9. Jack Daniel’s Black Label – .75L
  10. Crown Royal w/ Bag – .75L
Jason deBruyn is WUNC's Supervising Editor for Digital News, a position he took in 2024. He has been in the WUNC newsroom since 2016 as a reporter.
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