With holiday shopping in full swing, liqueur and cordial retail sales are heating up. “Cordials and liquors are up this time of year,” says Ryan Maloney, owner of Julio’s Liquors in Westborough, Massachusetts. “It’s a little tricky this year because of supply chain issues. We’ve had to work around a couple of things and take in some brands we don’t always carry.”
In Minnesota, liqueurs and cordials sales are rising at Haskell’s, which operates nine stores in the Minneapolis region. “One cordial we hop on board with and do a hell of a number with is Nashville, Tennessee-based Louisa’s Coffee Caramel Pecan liqueur ($22 a 750-ml.),” says Haskell’s president Ted Farrell. “I talked about it on the ‘Twin Cities Live’ television show a couple of times and sold the state out.”
Likewise, Julio’s is experiencing strong sales of coffee-flavored liqueurs and Disaronno Amaretto ($40 a 750-ml.). “Anything with coffee in it does well,” Maloney says. “Kahlua ($23 a 750-ml.) dominates but a lot of the brands taking off are being produced by smaller companies, including Mr. Black Cold Brew coffee liqueur ($30 a 750-ml) and Full Throttle Espresso Shot liqueur ($20 a 750-ml.).” At Julio’s, liqueurs are being promoted with endcap displays, case carts, and flash sales.
Baileys continues its popularity despite supply issues and competition from other brands. “We brought in Baileys ($35 a 750-ml.) heavy at the beginning of the season to solidify the buy so we wouldn’t have any problems,” Maloney says, noting overall strength in cream liqueur sales. “Irish creams do way more volume because Baileys is such a powerhouse. Fabrizia Crema di Limoncello ($18 a 750-ml.) from New Hampshire is picking up. People are getting into Wild Arbor ($28 a 750-ml.), a clear cream liqueur without any dairy, lactose, or gluten, but it tastes like a cream liqueur.”
Cream liqueur sales are also strong at Haskell’s. “There are a multitude of different Irish creams out there, including St. Brendan’s ($13 a 750-ml.), McCleary ($15 a 750-ml.), and Brady’s ($13 a 750-ml.),” Farrell says. “RumChata ($23 a 750-ml) also does well.”
Both Haskell’s and Julio’s face supply issues with the French liqueur Chartreuse. “The big supply issue for cordials is that we can’t get Yellow or Green Chartreuse ($75 a 750-ml.),” Farrell says. “There is a dry good shortage of corks and cardboard in Europe.”
It remains to be seen if Julio’s can meet the demand for Chartreuse. “Everybody is looking for Chartreuse V.E.P. Yellow ($200 a 1-liter), Green Chartreuse ($20 a 200-ml.), or Yellow Chartreuse ($75 a 70-cl.),” Maloney says. “Lucky for us—not that we are getting a great supply of it—we have been a good Chartreuse account for years. Now with the supply shortage, it’s a tricky one.”
At Haskell’s, aquavit has a strong following. “In this market, with all of our Scandinavian heritage, aquavits are always a big push this time of year, including imported brands like Aalborg Jubilaeums ($26 a 750-ml.) and Linie ($28 a 750-ml.), or domestic ones like Minneapolis-based Norseman ($42 a 750-ml.). “The majority of our local distilleries make aquavit,” Farrell says. “It is the Scandinavian water of life. We’ve always categorized it as a cordial.”
Other big sellers at Haskell’s include Chambord raspberry liqueur ($30 a 750-ml.) and orange-flavored offerings, such as Grand Marnier ($32 a 750-ml.), Cointreau ($36 a 850-ml.), and Ponche Caballero ($33 a 750-ml.). “There are still some of the old school brands that do quite well like Frangelico ($30 a 750-ml.),” Farrell says. “There is an uptick in cordials year-round because people are dropping them into different drinks and experimenting.”