Higher gas and heating fuel prices haven’t made Iowans cut back on the alcohol they buy. The director of the Alcoholic Beverages Division, Lynn Walding, says the record trend of alcohol sales is continuing. Walding says sales for the current fiscal year continue on the upward trend and have hit double digits. The fiscal year began in July.
Many Iowans apparently had some spirits with their Thanksgiving meal. Walding says this Monday they did one-point-three million dollars in one day and he says, “We are on a very steep curve, and apparently the recent Thanksgiving holiday was very good as retailers reorder their stock.”
Walding says Iowans have been buying more expensive liquor. He says they’ve seen a definite trade up as the amount of dollars exceeds the gallons sold. He says the gap wasn’t as big earlier this year, but he says the spread has increased a little bit. Walding says Iowans has the third highest tax on spirits, fourth highest on wine and the 24th highest on beer.
Walding says the high tax results in a low per-capita consumption of alcohol compared to other states. To find out more about state liquor sales, surf to:www.iowaabd.com.