On tap in 2024: More Modelo, tequila, canned cocktails, whiskey and non-boozy beverages

What will be the boozy beverages of choice in 2024? For now, last year's favorites like Modelo Especial, tequila, ready-to-drink cocktails – and non-alcoholic beverages, too – all look to have staying power.

Sales of imported beer, especially Modelo, increased by $1 billion, or 9.1%, in 2023. That's a huge gain in a year when total spending on alcoholic beverages at retail locations amounted to $89.8 billion, a modest 1.1% increase over 2022, according to data firm NIQ's tracking of sales in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, mass-merchandise stores, convenience stores and liquor stores.A big factor: Modelo Especial's supplanting of Bud Light as the top-selling beer in the U.S. in May 2023 amid a consumer boycott sparked by Bud Light's marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Don't look for Bud Light to regain its top spot in 2024.

Those who boycotted "haven't forgotten and they've found new light beer brands to purchase or discovered spirits-based (ready-to-drink cocktails) or perhaps even cannabis to purchase," said Bump Williams, whose firm Bump Williams Consulting of Shelton, Connecticut, services the alcoholic beverage industry.

"We no longer (had) an American beer as the leader during the Fourth of July," Williams told USA TODAY. "I question whether we will ever have another considering the demographic changes of the (21 and older) sector."

Another likely trend: spending more for what you want to drink. Inflation is a culprit but producers are charging more. While spending on beer rose 1.4%, volume sold declined 3%, according to NIQ.

Beer prices rose at the beginning of the year and consumers have opted for products that cost a bit more than domestic beers, too, with imported beers and canned cocktails and other ready-to-drink beverages, Williams said.

"Instead of buying large multi-packs at cheap prices, we see consumers buying smaller packages at a higher price (per unit)," he said.

Here's a look at other alcohol beverage – and non-alcoholic options – for 2024:

Modelo is the big beer brand, but others like Coors, Miller, Yuengling thrive

Beer sales rose 1.4% in 2023, but imports and flavored malt beverages accounted for most of the growth, according to NIQ.

Some bright spots, according to Williams, include Coors Light and Banquet beers, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Yuengling's beers, Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Lone Star and New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger beers. However, he added, "we are losing beer drinkers to spirits-based ready-to-drink (options) and flavored spirits drinks."

Imported beers including Corona Extra and other Corona beers, Pacifico and Dos Equis have been on the rise for several years, and domestic beers haven't been able to keep up.

"Some consumer preferences are changing and definitely the way our population is made up is also changing," said Kaleigh Theriault, associate director of beverage alcohol thought leadership at NIQ.

"I think the Hispanic influence is coming through in a lot of our flavors recently, too," she said, citing more beverage makers getting into the category of cheladas, which are Mexican cocktails, usually with beer, lime and other flavors. Modelo and Bud Light are among brands now offering cheladas.

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Drinks to go: Ready-to-drink and canned cocktails prosper

Also expected to remain popular in 2024: flavored malt beverages, such as Twisted Tea and Mike's Hard Lemonade – sales of which rose about 18% in 2023 – and canned cocktails such Jack Daniel's and Coke and those from Anheuser Busch InBev-owned Cutwater Spirits, which collectively rose about 5%, NIQ says.

Ready-to-drink products – including flavored malt beverages, hard seltzers, as well as canned spirits and wine drinks – rose nearly 6%, with sales of $10.7 billion. NIQ says.

These are expected to remain popular and you can expect plenty of new products in the category because new flavors appeal to consumers, Theriault said.

Among the new entries: Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch, created by chef Guy Fieri and Two Roads Brewing Co., which began landing in stores late November 2022, and Sammy Hagar's Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktails, which recently expanded to Arizona (already available in Illinois, California, Nevada, Texas, Hawaii and Florida).

Chris Stapleton, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart launch celebrity spirits

Tequila is expected to continue to be a favorite for 2024. Sales of tequila at retail stores rose 5.1% in 2023, NIQ says.

"We're starting to see a lot of brands launch their version of a Cristalino tequila (charcoal filtering results in a clear liquid), so it's got more clarity to it," Theriault said.

Whiskey also rose 2.8% for the year, while other spirits such as Irish whiskey, gin, Canadian whisky, vodka, rum, scotch and cognac saw declines.

Not likely to tap out in 2024: spirits with celebrities on board. The newest entry is Traveller Whiskey, a blended whiskey from Buffalo Trace, created with the help of Chris Stapleton.

Also just hitting stores: Crossfire Hurricane, an aged, blended rum that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards say "is our tribute to the islands that have inspired us for decades," on the rum's website; and Wolfie's Whisky, a blended Scotch whisky from Loch Lomond Distillery with Rod Stewart as a partner.

Wine sales dip, but to-go options could connect

Sales of wine at retail dipped 1.4% in 2023, however, wine-based ready-to-drink cocktails rose 20%, NIQ says. That could be a strategy for growth, Theriault said.

"There were some seltzers and some spritzers that were wine-based, but they fell kind of flat," she said. "It'll be interesting to see what brands kind of move into that space with a wine-based (drink) to help with the recruitment issues they are struggling with."

Some brands that could take off in 2024 include BuzzBallz Chillers, which are made with wine, and Sutter Home's line of wine cocktails, Williams said.

"Wine continues to hold its own and I think the new offerings ... in portable/aseptic packaging will continue to grow," he said.

Non-alcoholic beer, spirits and wine sales continue to rise

Consumer interest in non-alcoholic beers and other booze-free beverages won't likely wane in 2024. In 2023, spending on non-alcohol beer wine and spirits sales rose a whopping 35% to $565 million at retail stores (the biggest increase of any category), NIQ says.

Among the newest non-alcoholic products is Shiner Rodeo Golden Brew, the first of a planned series of non-alcoholic beers from the K. Spoetzl Brewery, makers of Shiner Bock.

Makers of spirits are entering the non-booze space, too, with Vermont-based WhistlePig Whiskey recently launching its non-alcoholic ready-to-drink Dank & Dry Old Fashioned Cocktail.

Non-alcoholic options and more flavorful choices will be important for brands to succeed, especially as more Generation Z consumers enter the potential market. They are more interested in alcohol in moderation and non-boozy beverages, Theriault says.

Younger drinkers are also interested in environmental and sustainability issues, she said. One example involves outdoor clothing company Patagonia collaborating with several U.S. breweries, including Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Russian River Brewing Co., to make Patagonia Provisions Kernza Lager, which is made with kernza, a wheatlike grain that has deeper roots than wheat and requires less tilling and replanting – and less use of equipment running on fossil fuels.

"I think we're going to start to see more of that make its way into the alcohol space," Theriault said.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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