Spirited Discussions: A Podcast by Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services

Top Ten Bestselling Beers, Wines and Spirits

• Jocelyn Rawat • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Can you guess the top ten best-selling beers, wines and spirits? ABS Communications Manager Melissa Romeo and Breakthru Beverage Division Sales Director Joe Giardina join host Jocelyn Rawat to reveal the ten most purchased products by category, the broad array of products available through the ABS warehouse, and how new products come to the Montgomery County market. Guests also recommend some popular mixed drinks you can make with the top-selling liquor.

Professional Voiceover:

Welcome to Spirited Discussions. A podcast by Alcohol Beverage Services exploring alcohol products trends and policies in Montgomery County.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Jocelyn Rawat, and today our guests are going to share the top 10 best-selling products in each category, so that's going to be beer, wine and spirits. They're also going to help us understand how new products come to the local market. So from ABS, we have Melissa Romeo, who is a communications manager and supervisor for the communication center. Hi, Melissa.

Jocelyn Rawat:

And we're also joined by Joe Giardina, who is the division sales director for Breakthrough Beverage, which acts as a broker agent for the suppliers it represents, which doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense to me. So, Joe, could you explain that, tell me what Breakthrough Beverage is and what role it plays in the alcohol industry, particularly here in Montgomery County?

Joe Giardina:

Hi Jocelyn, how are you doing this afternoon? First of all, I work for Breakthrough Beverage and we are broker agents in Montgomery County. Well, I work for Breakthrough Beverage and we are broker agents in Montgomery County. What that means is, in the open state we have a distributor called Breakthrough and we distribute to the open state of Maryland In Montgomery County. Montgomery County acts as a distributor, so therefore we are the brokers for the suppliers that we represent in the open state.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So what does that mean in terms of your relationship with ABS? I see you here a lot, so you're clearly working hand in hand right, right.

Joe Giardina:

So with ABS what I'm doing is helping them coordinate items that they're going to buy, corporate mandates, the inventory levels on certain items if there's programs involved in it, coordinating programs with Montgomery County, coordinating charitable programs with Montgomery County Basically, every facet that you do on your end as a distributor we're doing on our end as broker agents. We're facilitating that for Montgomery County.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so that means you also have a relationship with the licensed establishments, meaning the private beer and wine stores and restaurants and specialty venues. Correct?

Joe Giardina:

So in essence, what we do is we call on the ABS, the corporate headquarters, then we call on the 27 ABS stores. We act as their merchandisers in their stores. Then we call on the beer wines and we represent the products to the beer wines, we present new products to beer wines or we help them with the inventory issues on some of their items. And we also call on all the on-premise accounts as well.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay. So if a licensed establishment isn't sure what they want to provide, then you're a good resource for them. You help them understand the products and choose the right ones for their establishment?

Joe Giardina:

Yes, and we'll coordinate with the center here in Montgomery County to make sure that the county is facilitating what their needs are.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay. So, Melissa, what's your role with ABS? You're a communications manager?

Melissa Romeo:

Yes, I am the communications manager here at ABS, so I do a lot of our website and promotions. We work really closely with all of the divisions here at ABS with retail, our warehouse and our admin side. I also manage our communication center, which we say "we are here for you for all of our licensees. Not only do they process orders for all of our licensees but they also provide assistance and problem solving. If any licensee should have an issue or a question about a product, their order, their delivery, we're here to help them and kind of their one-stop shop.

Joe Giardina:

So, to reiterate what we do, we work directly with the communication center. We help each other to solve the needs of the customers as rapidly as we can.

Melissa Romeo:

Teamwork makes the dream work, absolutely.

Joe Giardina:

Very much teamwork with the communication center.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay. So I don't think that people necessarily have an understanding of really the scope of the warehouse here. Melissa, can you give us a sense of it?

Melissa Romeo:

So it's a huge scope. We have over 200 employees just in our warehouse. Our warehouse is about 210,000 square feet, which houses more than 35,000 products in active inventory. We also have a fleet of 27 trucks that make over 86,000 deliveries per year, which is crazy when you think of it that way, because that means we process an average of 20,000 cases of product per day out of our warehouse.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so those are some big numbers. And here's another big number: there are about 1,100 different brands offered here in the warehouse, so it's a big deal to break into the top 10 of the most purchased products. So these lists that we're talking about today are based on the total number of cases sold from our warehouse, so that's going to include sales to restaurants, private stores and the ABS retail stores. So if everybody's got your guesses ready, let's start with the top 10 in the liquor category.

Melissa Romeo:

Let's go. All right. So coming in at number 10 is the Aperol, 750 milliliters. Number nine is our Bowman's Vodka, 1.75 liters. Number eight is our High Noon Tropical Variety Packs. Number seven is the Surfside Variety Pack. Number six is our Tito's Handmade Vodka, 750 milliliters. Number five is our High Noon 8-pack variety, number four, high Noon Variety Pack. Of the 12 packs, number three is our Don Julio Resposado, number two is our Tito's Handmade 1 liter and our number one is our Tito's Handmade Vodka, 1.75 liters.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay. So I don't think any of us are surprised that Tito's Handmade Vodka is at the top of the list, but with three in the top 10, it's really dominating the field. Joe, you represent this product. Why are there three in the top 10, and what makes the product so special?

Joe Giardina:

Well, thank you for asking that question. Tito's is a unique product in the beverage industry. It's a handmade vodka, and vodka is extremely compatible with blending and in mixed drinks, so it's very versatile to begin with. But the stories of Tito's is very unique. He started Tito's in his basement, making it for friends, and it's grown into one of the biggest spirits in the world. Tito's has a unique position in the market where it doesn't have any other offshoots besides the Tito's vodka. So the on-premise is extremely popular. It's the number one selling spirit in the on-premise. In the off-premise it's the number one selling spirit with the half gallons and it has a lot of strength throughout the market because of its versatility, its handmade vodka uniqueness and its reputation in the market.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So I heard you say it's compatible with mixed drinks, so does that mean you have a good cocktail recipe you can share with us?

Joe Giardina:

So the way that I look at these with Tito's, Tito's goes with anything, so you can make as simple as Tito's and lemonade, which is great. You could add a little cranberry in there to make it a very good. You could also make a Tito's Mule, which is Tito's and ginger beer, Tito's Bloody Mary, which you just use a nice Bloody Mary mix. Whichever you want to do, I like it a little spicy Spicy me too, so I add jalapenos to it as well, and I like a Tito's Soda with a dash of orange in it. So anything you want to have with Tito's is mixable and compatible. So enjoy mixing away.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, that all sounds good. So these lists we're going to see are going to represent the big tried- and- true products that we all know, but lots of us are looking for new experiences and new products to try. So, Joe, what's the process for a supplier to bring a new product to the Montgomery County market?

Joe Giardina:

So the supplier gives me a list of what his new products, his or her new products are that they want to present to the county. Then I go through the listing committee to present the new products to a board and they decide what, how they're going to make it, whether they're going to make it a stock, a specialty item in the county, or whether they're not going to accept it at all. So it goes through a process of vetting. But any store in the county on-premise or beer wine can get anything that is available in the open market, as long as they go through the communication center, which is an asset to them, and request it, or their local source and request it.

Jocelyn Rawat:

OK, that's an important point. I think that some people don't necessarily understand that if it's available in the state of Maryland, it's available here in Montgomery County ABS.

Melissa Romeo:

Absolutely.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Absolutely OK. All right, let's move on to. Let's move on to beer and wine. So if everybody's got their their guesses ready, Melissa, what have you got for us?

Melissa Romeo:

Back on Top 10 for wine. Coming in at number 10 is our Sutter Home Pinot Grigio. Number nine is the Apothic California Red Blend. Number eight is our Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc Number seven, Josh Sellers Cabernet. Number six is the Buzz Balls Chiller Lime Rita. Number five is the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. Number four is our Wycliffe California Brut Champagne. Number three is our Sutter Home Chardonnay, Number two is the Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and number one is La Marca Prosecco.

Jocelyn Rawat:

I heard some of my favorites on there. So Joe, Breakthrough represents spirits and wines. So what are your thoughts on the best-selling wines?

Joe Giardina:

So I'm fortunate enough to represent Tito's, which is the number one spirit, and La Marca Prosecco, which is the number one wine, and La Marca Prosecco is a great universal Prosecco that has a fresh tasting quality to it and it also is very mixable. Once again, what we're seeing with spirits and wine is a mixability to it. The number one cocktail right now is the La Marca Prosecco with aperitif involved. So these wines are available here and they're very good in getting the quantities that are needed. I represent Josh as well Josh Sellers on this and Josh has just blossomed into an incredibly popular wine in the category.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, thank you, Joe. I can't stress enough how much ABS values its partnership with Breakthrough Beverage and with the other wholesalers. These relationships ultimately benefit consumers.

Joe Giardina:

Thank you.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so we've got one left, Melissa. Let's hear our top 10 beers.

Melissa Romeo:

Okay, coming in at number 10 is our Corona Extra 4 6-pack bottles. Number 9 is our Modelo Especial 2 12-pack bottles. Number 8 is our Miller Lite 30-pack cans. Number 7 is our Heineken 2 12-pack bottles. Number 6, Heineken Loose bottles. Number 5, our Modelo Especial 24 Loose bottles. Number 4, Modelo Especial 24 loose bottles. Number four Modelo Especial 2 12-pack cans. Number three Modelo Especial suitcase cans. Number two are Corona Extra 2 12-pack bottles and number one is our Corona Extra loose bottles.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, it's interesting that the top 10 is comprised of different varieties of really just four brands. The first time we see another brand is at slot 18 with Milwaukee's Best Ice, wow. So this list is based on cases of beer, but the warehouse also manages kegs and there's an impressive keg room. Is that right, Melissa?

Melissa Romeo:

Yes, there is. Our keg room can hold up to 3,500 kegs with a total value of about $300,000. There is a constant turnover with these kegs.

Jocelyn Rawat:

I guess that makes sense. You want your kegs to be fresh, so the best selling kegs just for your information, that's not a part of our top 10 list. So that's Guinness Stout at number three, Stella Artois at number two and Miller Lite at number one. So there's a lot going on at the warehouse, Is it a 24-hour operation?

Melissa Romeo:

Almost. The warehouse runs about 20 hours per day, but we are 24 hours with the ordering, so you can order 24 hours per day through our iStore ordering.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so you can order 24 hours a day. That's licensed establishments, correct? I can't order from my home.

Melissa Romeo:

No, no, no, just our licensed establishments, all right.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Thank you, Melissa Romeo and Joe Giardina, for participating in today's Spirited Discussion.

Joe Giardina:

Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Jocelyn Rawat:

If there's a topic you'd like us to cover on the podcast, email us at abs. spiriteddiscussions@ montgomerycountym d. gov, and thank you for listening.

Professional Voiceover:

Alcohol Beverage Services is the alcohol wholesaler of beer, wine and spirits for Montgomery County and it operates neighborhood retail stores. Abs also manages alcohol licensing, enforcement and education for more than 1,000 businesses. Its profits are used to pay for resident services that otherwise would be funded by county tax dollars. This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County Government. Connect with us via cable, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube by searching for County Cable MoCo.