Between Election Day, Thanksgiving weekend, and the start of the holiday gifting season, November marked a busy month for retailers across the Drizly platform. It also saw new categories rise through the ranks and recent top performers like tequila and ready-to-drink strengthen their positions even on traditional drinking occasions. Get ready for a strong end-of-year push with these five insights from Drizly’s November sales.

The Fastest-Growing Alcohol Categories of November

Several new categories topped the list of the fastest-growing drinks on Drizly last month. In the liquor category, aguardiente – the strong spirit made in Spain, Portugal, and many Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in the Americas – experienced a high year-over-year sales increase in November, led by Colombian brand Antioqueno.

Pilsner also had an unusually high growth rate, led by Corona Extra and Pacifico Clara. Within the wine category, Nerello Cappuccio led growth last month. The grape is often blended with Nerello Mascalese in Sicily’s popular Etna Rossos, like the top-selling Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso. These wines often carry a higher price point; the average unit price for Nerello Cappuccio on Drizly is $25.

Thanksgiving Weekend Insights

There were many year-over-year consistencies amongst Thanksgiving alcohol purchasing on Drizly. Over Thanksgiving weekend (November 23 to 27), spirits held steady as the top-selling category with 46 percent of share, followed by wine at 39 percent and beer at 14 percent. The top five subcategories remained consistent as well – red wine, white wine, vodka, bourbon, and Champagne – though silver/blanco tequila, Prosecco, and reposado tequila all moved up within the best-selling subcategories list. Beer subcategories, however, lost share; hard seltzer fell out of the top 10 list and light lager dropped from No. 8 to No. 10.

In recent years, tequila has become increasingly significant over the Thanksgiving holiday; it grew seven percent overall from Thanksgiving weekend 2021 (November 24 to 28, 2021) to Thanksgiving weekend 2022. Reposado tequila specifically saw even higher growth (17 percent). Bourbon, on the other hand, experienced a slight decline of four percent, indicating that some whiskey drinkers may be turning to aged tequilas as alternatives.

As it has all year, the ready-to-drink cocktail subcategory experienced significant year-over-year growth: nearly 40 percent. At the same time, hard seltzer dropped 13 percent over last year. All non-alcoholic subcategories experienced year-over-year growth as well, led by NA spirits, which nearly doubled their share year-over-year.

Sparkling wines had a strong showing over Thanksgiving; Champagne held steady year-over-year, while Prosecco experienced eight percent growth. Consumers also may have been drinking lighter and fresher this year; red wine experienced a three percent decrease in share, while white wine held four percent in gains.

Market Insights: Wyoming

The statewide market for Wyoming saw year over year growth on Drizly last month, led by the city of Cheyenne, which is then followed by Jackson. Wyoming purchasers over-index on the beer category; it held 27 percent of share in November, which was a full 12 percentage points above the national average. Liquor still holds the highest share at 47 percent, and wine sits at 24 percent.

However, subcategory trends within the beer category remain consistent with other markets. Hard seltzer leads with 27 percent of share, followed by light lager at 26 percent, American-style lager (11 percent), and pilsner, IPA, and witbier each with four percent.

November’s Top-Selling Drinks Brands

Several former top sellers found their way into the list of fastest-growing drinks brands once again in November. As it was in November, NÜTRL (a vodka-based ready-to-drink) was the fastest-growing liquor brand in the month of November, followed by premium tequila brand DeLeón. Happy Dad hard seltzer, which topped the list in September, was the fastest-growing beer brand again last month, followed by Other Half Brewing.

Wine brand trends indicated that sparkling wine consumers were thinking lighter: Bellissima, a bubbly brand backed by Christie Brinkley, is known for its zero-sugar offerings, such as the Bellissima Zero Sugar Brut Sparkling. 

Elections Boost Consumer Alcohol Purchasing

The Drizly platform saw a spike in order volume around the midterm elections, held on November 8. Nationally, orders were six percent higher than the average of the previous four Tuesdays on November 8. This was even more significant in certain markets; Ohio, for instance, saw orders 31 percent higher than the average of the previous four Tuesdays. Florida’s orders were 15 percent higher, Arizona was 12 percent higher, California was 10 percent higher, and New York was nine percent higher.