Vodka is the best-selling liquor in 13 of the state’s 15 largest counties (whiskey outsells vodka in Catawba and Onslow counties). But there are some interesting local alcohol consumption trends, reports the Wilmington Star-News:
Statewide, drinking habits do tend to follow patterns, sometimes unexpected ones. Rural counties like Bertie, Greene and Hertford have an outsized appetite for gin, while communities in Dare, Currituck, Onslow and other coastal counties imbibe rum at an accelerated rate.
Local bias also emerges — Tennessee whiskey sells better in communities closer to North Carolina’s western boundary with that state.
In the Triangle area, it’s the hip rye whiskey splashing into tumblers a lot these days. Wake, Durham and Orange counties all are significantly ahead of the state average in rye sales, peaking at 463 percent above the norm in Orange County.
“Rye is a hot new trend right now, for sure. Most of my business is on the south side in Chapel Hill,” said Barry Roberts, buyer and warehouse manager for Orange County’s ABC board. “Rittenhouse Rye is particularly hard to find. I order it 50 cases at a time when I can get it.”
Others buck the trends entirely. In the tiny Duplin County community of Warsaw — estimated population 3,000 — whiskey beats vodka as the top seller. The percentage of vodka sales there is actually the smallest in the state. Meanwhile, brandy and gin sales soar to about 300 percent above the state average there.
