Thursday, February 13, 2025

State liquor stores have 20th record-breaking year in a row

Virginians bought more alcohol in the state’s beverage control stores and restaurants as the state agency saw record sales for the 20th year in a row.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority said in a new report that its total sales were $983.3 million in fiscal year 2018. That’s up $43 million from the previous year.

The agency attributes the sales increase in part to opening five new stores across the state, including a superstore at Dulles International Airport.

Tito’s Handmade domestic vodka was the number one seller in fiscal 2018, bringing in $33.4 million. Hennessy cognac, the top seller in 2017, was No. 2 with $33.1 million in gross sales.

John Mangalonzo
John Mangalonzohttp://wydaily.com
John Mangalonzo (john@localdailymedia.com) is the managing editor of Local Voice Media’s Virginia papers – WYDaily (Williamsburg), Southside Daily (Virginia Beach) and HNNDaily (Hampton-Newport News). Before coming to Local Voice, John was the senior content editor of The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy newspaper in Washington state. Previously, he served as city editor/content strategist for USA Today Network newsrooms in St. George and Cedar City, Utah. John started his professional journalism career shortly after graduating from Lyceum of The Philippines University in 1990. As a rookie reporter for a national newspaper in Manila that year, John was assigned to cover four of the most dangerous cities in Metro Manila. Later that year, John was transferred to cover the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. He spent the latter part of 1990 to early 1992 embedded with troopers in the southern Philippines as they fought with communist rebels and Muslim extremists. His U.S. journalism career includes reporting and editing stints for newspapers and other media outlets in New York City, California, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.

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