Taking a look at alcohol consumption in 2014

© monticellllo - Fotolia.com

Beyond the usual Western European patient that ended the year flat lining; the Chinese slowdown - at just 1.2% - is now the most sobering growth figure coming out of the country since the 90s.

Russia's on-going macro and geopolitical travails - culminating in a decline of 6% for 2014 - weighed heavily on the global landscape. But as the seemingly unstoppable emerging market engine begins to sputter and stall, North America shifts back into focus with total volume growth for the year at 1%, up from a poor 0.3% in 2013, if still some distance from the exuberance of the past.

Winners and losers

Geographic diversification or lack thereof remains one of the defining factors determining top line success or failure. It is within that context that categories like cognac and vodka suffered disproportionally due to their overreliance on a single market or region.

Cognac registered a total volume growth of just 0.4% and vodka declined by 5%, it was second tier markets beyond their core strategic bastions that provided or could yet provide some respite. For example, cognacs' belated shift of focus towards the US and mass-market varietals has already planted the seeds of an American renaissance for a category otherwise trapped in a gilded cage of luxury and nouveau rich extravagance.

On the other hand, the on-going pivot towards brown spirits and select varietals within the whiskey stable underscore the still untapped opportunities even in otherwise terminally mature markets. Heritage, authenticity and quality solidified their position as key drivers for whiskeys but some fared better than others did. Bourbon, Irish and Japanese whiskeys witnessing spectacular total volume rates of 5%, 8% and 7% respectively stole the limelight from scotch which was eclipsed in terms of innovation and relevance to the millennial demographic alongside key Scotch distillers' overoptimistic assessment of the emerging market mantra.

There were winners and losers across all categories. In beer, beyond the ever rising tide of craft offerings across the globe, Imported premium lager, ale and non-alcoholic variants proved to be the star performers at the same time that imported mid-priced lager suffered the most, a reiteration of the relevance of polarisation, craftsmanship, diversification and exoticism as the key drivers across the alcoholic drinks landscape.

Cider - seemingly insulated by recessionary forces, macroeconomic volatility or even evolving drinking patterns - continued enjoying solid total volume growth of nearly 9% on a global level, as the western European core markets gradually take a back seat to the skyrocketing North American success story.