While the old adage goes 'beer before liquor, never been sicker,' recent nationwide sales of beer are also not as healthy as they have been.
According to the Washington Post, beer sales dropped 1.5 percent between 1998 and 2004. At the same time, liquor sales increased .06 percent and wine sales went up .09 percent.
'Across the board, liquor sales are going up a little more, and big beer brands are not because people are starting to shop up and buy more micro-beers,' said Andrew Beaulieu, an employee from Badger Liquor, 402 State St.
While beer industry executives like to point out that the consumption of spirits is still down from its peak in 1978, there is no denying that the shift away from beer towards hard alcohol and micro-brewery concotions is occuring. Nationally, the spirits industry, due in part to successful advertising campaigns targeting women, NASCAR-loving men and the launch of TV ad campaigns, has reached its highest consumption point in two decades.
'I've noticed the same situation here, most people want hard liquor and not beer,' said a clerk from Vineyard Liquor, 626 University Ave., who wished to remain anonymous.
The success of the spirits industry is due in part to the aggressive advertising campaigns it has launched in recent years. Spirits makers have started targeting consumers in bars, where they drink. Johnnie Walker, for example, now pays women to roam throughout a bar, offering free tastes of its premium scotch and bites of chocolate cake. Jim Beam recently began its first television advertising campaign, which reinforces its motto that 'The Stuff Inside Matters Most.'
Barcardi, among others, has made a noticeable effort to court women drinkers and tap into the now-hip martini culture. It unveiled an ad campaign featuring 'Sex and the City' actress Kim Catrall, sipping from a martini glass and promoting its new low-calorie liquor.
Advertisements like this appeal to women who might be turned off by the majority of beer ads that reach out to the male
demographic.
'There's nothing romantic or sophisticated about standing in a fancy restaurant or nightclub holding a light beer,' Frank Coleman, a spokesperson for the Distilled Spirits Council, told the Washington Post. 'For professional women, there's something elegant about spirits glassware.'
Coleman also pointed out that the number of stations running liquor ads has skyrocketed, going from about 50 five years ago to more than 500 today.
Although nationwide beer sales are decreasing, local liquor stores are quick to point out that some brands continue to have steady sales in Madison.
'Miller Lite has a strong hold in Wisconsin because it's made in Milwaukee,' said UW-Madison senior Dave Campbell, an employee at Riley's Wines of the World, 402 W. Gorham St., 'But the sales of micro-brews is up from last year.'
Some brands, like 'New Glarus and Central Waters, are really picking up' in sales, added UW-Madison senior Gabe Johnson-Karp, another Riley's Wines of the World employee.
