The Rise of Vodka
A good friend and client started up his own distillery in my hometown. It's fully licensed and operational. Its first product is Incentive Vodka, and it's winning awards and spreading. I hadn't taken a shot of liquor in over twenty years, but I've taken a shot of Incentive. Twice. I thought it would kill me, but it was smooth. I even drank Incentive mixed with Red Bull one evening, which is something I swore I'd never do (strictly for "kicktards," I used to say, but I was dead tired, was obligated to stay up for at least a few more hours, and the concoction was delicious).
So, am I a vodka dude? Naw, far from it, but the rest of America is. One of the best drinking essays of the year was published recently at The Weekly Standard: Vodka Nation. The author points out that America has become a vodka-loving nation, with nearly 1,000 brands to choose from. He says that, a mere 30 years ago, there were just a few brands and most Americans didn't drink the white spirits in general, much less vodka in particular (we had always been, the author points out, a "brown spirit" nation, the nation of bourbon and whiskey).
So what happened between the 1970s, when the spirits industry was dominated by Mowhawk ("Mohawk had a factory just outside Detroit along the expressway and .”‰”‰.”‰”‰. all their products were made there. It's almost like they turned a switch–whiskey, vodka, gin. And it was all junk") to today? Three things: Hippies, Absolut, and Grey Goose.
The hippie revolution in the late 1960s catalyzed a bolt from old fashioned things. The dark spirits were old fashioned. The white spirits were new, so vodka rode the wave. By 1976, vodka had already surpassed bourbon and whiskey.
And then the Swedes came in 1979 with bottles of Absolut in one hand and huge amounts of advertising. People were convinced it was the best and were willing to pay $15 a bottle for it. The higher price tag attracted more brands to the market, all vying for market share in the $15-$17 range.
Then came Grey Goose. It followed the Absolute model: European, higher price, and lots of advertising. The Goose started its American flight in 1997. By 2004, it was churning out 1.5 million cases annually.
And its successful price tag in the $28 range attracted a lot of distillers. The result: We now have nearly 1,000 brands in America.
And the trend doesn't really look like it's slowing down.
As evidenced by Incentive's fast rise in Michigan, more and more Americans like their vodka.
