What's on the horizon for the most exclusive limited-edition whiskeys, wine, and spirits?

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Wine and spirits is one of the oldest industries known to humankind. Production of alcoholic beverages is thought to have originated around 7000 BC and has only continued to increase in popularity and complexity throughout human history.

Nearly every culture on earth has its own take on producing wine and spirits, using the source materials available to them — from grapes to sugar cane to potatoes, humans have developed an ingenious array of ways to enjoy a tasty beverage and a pleasant buzz. So yeah, in visiting that bar you are contributing to a tradition as old as time. Cheers!

But despite the enduring popularity of wine, whiskey and other spirits, the state of the market is constantly in flux.

Like any other product, the industry is affected by shifts in the ways that we purchase things, societal changes, and consumer preferences. Even the seemingly timeless business of producing libations must adapt as the world evolves and drinkers’ tastes change with it.

EQL has supported some of the world’s premier alcohol brands — from Australian whisky maker Sullivan’s Cove to Napa Valley’s Ellman wines — and along the way, we’ve had plenty of opportunity to study the market and learn what’s hottest and how things are changing in the world of adult beverages.

While rapid shifts in the world of retail, in general, have brought about challenges for the industry, we’re convinced that the glass is more than half full when it comes to the future for wine and spirits brands — at least, for those who know how to pay attention to the trends and adapt to meet drinkers’ needs.

Let’s dig into trends and challenges to get a taste of what’s to come for wine and spirits.

Trend #1: Premium grows more popular

Modern-day imbibers have been shifting for decades away from mass-produced recipes. From major domestic labels, consumers turned to independent brewers and distillers. Then to craft and micro-producers. Now, even among the smaller, independent names, some of the most popular products are their rarest: the aged, the special releases, the limited edition.

Rare Whisky 101, which compiles data based on UK auction prices, saw its Apex 1000 index rise by more than 425% from its inception at the end of 2012 to the end of November 2022.

It’s not just rarity for rarity’s sake. Those harder-to-come-by releases make up some of the most interesting, premium drinking experiences available. Decades-old spirits and wines are aged to perfection that can’t be achieved through anything but patience. Small-batch, limited-edition brews or spirits allow producers to get creative, and as such, they represent the most unique and interesting flavors out there.

For the true connoisseur, as more and more drinkers consider themselves to be, nothing beats the premium experience of a small-batch, aged, or limited-edition spirit release.

Trend #2: Tastes turn global

As with almost every industry, the world of wine and spirits is getting bigger and more connected as globalization drives new consumer interests. Demand for spirits like whiskey is increasing in parts of the world like Asia and Africa. And geographic shifts don’t apply only to demand, but to supply too: at the same time that drinkers in places like India and China are becoming interested in spirits like whisky, so too is the Western world becoming increasingly aware of and interested in types of spirits like Japanese shochu, Korean soju, and Chinese baijiu.

No longer is the best wine strictly French, nor the best bourbon exclusively from Kentucky. For the first time in 2024, Japanese whisky won out over Scotch in a majority of categories — at a blind taste test in Glasgow, no less.

Trend #3: New flavors are on the rise

Our world seemingly grows more complicated with every passing year — and so do our tastes in alcohol. No longer settling for just sweet or bitter, imbibers are increasingly interested in spirits, wines, and cocktails that bring a more nuanced flavor palette, cask strength, incorporating tartness, umami, spice, and botanicals.

This is evidenced in part by the growing popularity of coffee as a mixer and tasting note. Sure, the espresso martini may be a sophisticated version of a FourLoko, but it’s also a great use of a flavor that, like spirits and wines, can present on a spectrum from strong and bitter to sweet and creamy. Other coffee-based cocktails, like the tasty carajillo that has long been popular in Spain and Latin America, are on the rise, and spirit makers are exploring ways of infusing coffee notes into their products.

Trend #4: Mixology interest

Mixology has always been an art, but things are really starting to get shaken up in the world of liquor drinks. The rise of high-end cocktail bars in cities and towns across the world has piqued new interest in craft cocktails and unique recipes, ranging from fresh takes on classics like the Negroni, to brand-new mixes that creative bartenders are coming up with every day.

With so many fresh and exciting cocktails entering popular culture, it’s no surprise that consumers don’t just want to drink straight spirits at home. Another industry trend that’s picking up steam is the at-home cocktail kit or pre-mixed cocktails, sold ready to drink (RTD). And those RTD cocktails are themselves trending more premium and sophisticated, offering complex flavor profiles that are still convenient to enjoy. Modern drinkers love being able to enjoy a unique cocktail at home without needing to be a master mixologist or keep a massive list of ingredients on hand.

Trend #5: Alcohol to Gen Z

The maturation of a new generation always brings about major shifts to the retail landscape, so naturally, the preferences of Gen Z are beginning to drive changes across a multitude of industries. By the end of 2024, nearly half of Gen Z will be at least 21 years old — the minimum age to purchase alcohol in America.

That means that it’s essential for alcohol producers to understand the new generation’s tastes and how to appeal to them. Many of those preferences are already reflected by the other trends we’ve dished on here — for example, it makes sense that young people of the Western hemisphere who have grown up in a much more globalized world are nearly as familiar with other cultures’ popular beverages as they are with Western classics like Kentucky straight bourbon.

But to Gen Z, values are nearly as important as flavor preferences. According to an ICSC report, 47% of Gen Z consumers prioritize supporting brands that prioritize racial/gender equality and sustainability. That means an increased interest in wine and spirits brands who give back to their communities, are women or POC owned, or use sustainable practices — like recycled or biodegradable packaging or even farm-to-bottle production methods.

What challenges will the wine and spirits industry face in 2025?

With all these new trends in play, there will undoubtedly be some growing pains for alcohol brands. Let’s shift our focus to some of the challenges that the industry faces moving forward.

Selling limited edition product

As we’ve covered, demand is growing massively for premium small-batch, aged, and otherwise limited releases. But when supply for these products is low by definition, what’s the best and most equitable way to distribute them to all those who want to purchase?

Releases of limited edition bottles tend to fall into one of two categories: an in-person drop with lines running around the block and a lot of stress and chaos for the distillery, or an online release in which bots snap up all the product so that resellers can profit. Luckily, this challenge has a solution: using a platform like EQL that was specifically built to fairly manage high-demand launches.

Keeping up with shifts in consumer preferences

It’s obviously essential for brands to stay up to date with what their consumers — especially emerging markets like Gen Z — want and value. But methods like running focus groups and conducting time-consuming industry analyses aren’t always good enough when the pace of change just seems to keep accelerating.

The only solution for brands here is to have the most up-to-the-minute data possible. Here, too, a producer’s choice of ecommerce platform can make a major difference: the amount and value of data collected from each launch or product drop varies massively from one option to the next.

Managing fulfillment from online purchases

Modern-day consumers expect to be able to purchase their alcohol the same way they purchase everything else nowadays: online. However, fulfillment is more complicated when it comes to selling wine and spirits compared to other products. Shipping booze requires some delicacy due to the fragile nature of bottled liquids, but the intricacies of laws and regulations around alcohol pose an even bigger challenge.

Rules for how alcohol can be distributed vary massively from country to country and even state to state within the US. Navigating these laws becomes a logistical nightmare, requiring brands to create new processes for each and every shipping destination.

But failing to solve this problem means massively missing out on the potential to sell wine and spirits to new global audiences. That’s why EQL has partnered with an alcohol distribution brand called Flaviar to ensure that distribution isn’t a barrier (or a major manual effort) to wine and spirits brands worldwide.

How EQL can help with your wine, whiskey or other spirits release

Having powered over 1,000 launches for libations brands like Sullivan’s Cove, Found North, and Suntory, EQL has learned to navigate the challenges the market presents. Our platform has been built with a multitude of features that help brands get the most out of every limited edition, high-demand launch.

We’ll explore the details of our platform in part 2 of this blog series, but our team is here to answer questions and chat about what EQL could do for your wine and spirits brand. Reach out today to learn more!