Bottled cocktails took off in 2021, at beer's loss

According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., the premixed cocktails category experienced a 43+ percent spike in sales last year to reach $1.6 billion, no doubt spurred by pandemic-era eat-at-home behavior. The trend is stealing away marketshare from beer, a category that's been on the decline for years. The trend of course has not gone unnoticed in the alcohol industry. Anheuser-Busch InBev, for example, has acquired Cutwater Spirits as part of efforts to shift its focus.