Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board releases state sales report, liquor license info
Jack Daniels gets invited to a lot of parties.
The drink ranked No. 1 for alcohol sold in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
The PLCB’s 2014-2015 annual report detailed Pennsylvanian’s tastes and sales of wines and spirits. The PLCB’s year ended June 28 and touted record sales of $2.34 billion, a 4.2 percent increase over the previous year.
December 2014, in which there were about 7.5 million transactions, was the most active month for buying alcohol. November 2014 was the runner-up and trailed by about 1.7 million. Unsurprisingly, most people go to the stores on Friday and Saturday.
“Sales growth is undoubtedly attributable in part to our ongoing effort to relocate and renovate our stores, making them more convenient and appealing to Pennsylvania consumers,” PLCB Chairman Tim Holden said in the report.
Centre County ranked 21st in sales at about $29.7 million, a 1.44 percent share of the market.
Allegheny County topped the list at $282.6 million in sales. The top five counties — Allegheny, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester — comprised nearly half of the sales in the state.
Sales growth is undoubtedly attributable in part to our ongoing effort to relocate and renovate our stores, making them more convenient and appealing to Pennsylvania consumers.
PCLB chairman Tim Holden
The Fine Wine and Good Spirits located at 1682 N. Atherton St., the most popular state chain store, ranked 19th in Pennsylvania for its $11.8 million in sales. There are 619 stores in the state, six of them in Centre County.
Centre County was alone in the state for having champagne as its favorite category of wine. It also preferred unflavored vodka, like most of the state, as its favorite spirit.
The PLCB also released information on liquor licenses.
Centre County has the 21st greatest population in the state but is 52nd in retail liquor licenses per 3,000 people. There are 3.59 retail licenses in the state per 3,000 people, though Centre County has just 2.55 retail licences per 3,000 people.
Shawn Annarelli: 814-235-3928, @Shawn_Annarelli
This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board releases state sales report, liquor license info."