Booze remains a hot seller in U.S.

William Spain, Special for USA TODAY | USAToday

As other economic indicators fluctuate wildly from month to month, one seeming constant is that America's thirst for alcohol – be it brewed or distilled – remains unquenched.

The numbers for 2014 are pretty much in and they spell good news across the board for makers of beer, spirits and wine. All three showed growth last year, with the biggest jump coming for the hard stuff.

On Tuesday, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. reported that overall sales of liquor rose 4% to $23.1 billion while volume gained 2.2% to 210 million cases. That continued a trend that began in about 2000 and has pretty much gained steam with each passing year.

"Consumer interest in industry innovations and premium products from distilled spirits producers of all sizes contributed to another year of steady growth in 2014," said Peter Cressy, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council. "In the U.S. market, strong consumer interest in cocktails, along with continuing market access and modernization improvements, is providing the industry with a solid base for future growth."

Whiskies, often called "brown goods" in the trade, added momentum to a remarkable comeback for what was a moribund category just 15 years ago.

Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey volume rose 7.4% to over 19 million cases, accounting for $2.7 billion in industry revenue. Irish whiskey and single malt Scotch were also on fire, with growth rates of 9.1% and 6.4%, respectively.

Much of that can be attributed to its growing appeal among the younger crowd, noted Martin Duffy, and industry veteran and co-producer of the Chicago Independent Spirits Expo.

"They don't want to drink what their father drank but they do want to drink what their grandfather drank," he said. In addition, "it was long seen as man's drink but more and more women are getting into it."

Tequila and vodka sales cooled off a bit with the Mexican tipple up 5% and vodka 3.7%.

After years of declines, the beer business is also showing signs of life. According to the latest estimates out this week from trade magazine Beer Marketer's Insights, volume was up just under 1% last year to 209.2 million 31-gallon barrels. That figure includes the far-faster growing cider. Knocking that out, volume was up about 0.4%.

"The industry got a little bit healthier," said Beer Marketer's Insights president Benj Steinman. "After four or five down years, it actually eked out a gain."

In wine, U.S. tipplers consumed 321.1 million cases in 2014, up from 312.5 million the year before, according to trade group Vinexpo which rolled out its numbers on Monday. The fruit of the vine has seen steady growth in this market for decades even as it stagnates in some other developed countries.

"Alcohol is still doing OK, even with all the gyrations in the economy," said Tom Pirko, president of Bevmark, a consultancy. If people are feeling good or feeling bad, they still want to drink. And I don't see any substantial decline in the future."