Liquor sales rose 2.5 percent in 2010

By Marc Kovac | January 19, 2011 at 12:01a.m.

COLUMBUS

Ohioans consumed more alcohol and boosted the state’s coffers in the process last year, according to the latest count by state officials.

The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Liquor Control reported Tuesday that 11 million gallons of liquor — beverages containing more than 21 percent alcohol by volume — were sold in 2010. That’s an increase of about 2.5 percent, or 269,024 gallons, over 2009 sales.

Dollar sales for spirituous liquor reached a record $753.7 million during the calendar year, up about 2.6 percent, or $19 million, from the previous year.

Top sellers for the year included Kamchatka Vodka (408,277 gallons), Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey (342,840 gallons), Bacardi Superior Light Rum (295,820 gallons) and Smirnoff Vodka (283,332 gallons).

The state’s liquor- control division oversees the manufacture and sale of alcohol in Ohio and serves as the “sole purchaser and distributor of spirituous liquor” in the state, according to the division.

Liquor is sold through 452 private businesses that operate under contracts. The state receives sales revenues from liquor, as well as sales and liquor taxes. Consumers pay $3.38 per gallon on the latter, said Matt Mullins, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Commerce.

In fiscal 2010, liquor sales generated more than $310 million, about half of which went into the state’s general fund.