The poor economy hasn’t kept Iowans from pouring a drink. Iowa Alcholic Beverages Division Administrator Lynn Walding says alcohol sales continue to be strong in Iowa. He says overall sales are up about five or six percent from last year. Walding says sales have held strong despite slow sales for other items. He says most liquor companies are doing quite well despite the down economy. Walding says the more expensive spirits continue to do well. He says they’ve seen an increase in sales across the board, but they are selling more of the better products. Walding says they’re coming into a busy time of year and it doesn’t look like the sales will lag. He says they ran a holiday show in September that did well in sales, and he says stores are now reordering to replenish sold out stock. Walding says they’re on track to improve sales by five million dollars. He says they sold 114 million dollars in alcohol last year, and are on track to sell 119 million dollars worth this year. If that holds, he says they’ll send 65 million dollars to the state in profits. Black Velvet whiskey by the way, is the top seller in Iowa with over 66-thousand cases sold. To view the top 100 boozes bought by Iowans, surf to: www.iowaabd.com.
