Russian liqueur sales rose 11.4%, driving growth in strong drinks

Retail alcohol sales in Russia fell 2% in the first seven months of 2026, but one part of the spirits market moved sharply higher and carried most of the growth in strong drinks. Sales of liqueurs and other specialty spirits, including gin, bitters and similar products, rose 11.4% from a year earlier, adding about 11.67 million liters in volume even as cognac, beer and still wine declined.

The figures were released by Rosalkogoltabakkontrol and reported by Interfax on Aug. 13, using data from EGAIS, Russia’s state alcohol tracking system, closed on Aug. 11. The numbers cover registered retail sales for January through July. A decaliter equals 10 liters.

In total, Russia sold 527.772 million decaliters of alcoholic drinks during the period, down from the same months of 2025. Within that total, sales of alcohol excluding beer, beer-based drinks, cider, poiret and mead slipped 0.7% to 113.854 million decaliters.

The stronger part of the market, drinks above 9% alcohol by volume, still posted a gain. Sales in that group rose 1.4% to 67.721 million decaliters, an increase of roughly 9.35 million liters. Almost all of that expansion came from the liqueur and specialty segment rather than from the traditional pillars of the Russian spirits market.

Retail sales of those specialty drinks reached 11.401 million decaliters, or 114.01 million liters. Based on the year-over-year rate, that was up from roughly 10.234 million decaliters a year earlier, an increase of about 1.167 million decaliters. In liter terms, that is close to 11.67 million additional liters sold.

Vodka, by contrast, was flat. Sales edged up just 0.04% to 41.376 million decaliters, showing almost no change in a category that remains the country’s largest spirit segment by volume. Cognac moved the other way. Its retail sales fell 2.3% to 6.963 million decaliters, a loss of about 1.64 million liters from the same period a year earlier. Other distilled spirits also declined, down 1% to 7.982 million decaliters.

The shape of those numbers points to a shift inside the strong-alcohol market rather than a broad-based rise in spirits demand. The gain in drinks above 9% alcohol was large enough to overcome losses in cognac and other spirits, but only because liqueurs and specialty products expanded so much while vodka held steady.

The weakest performance came from low-alcohol products. Sales in that category dropped 57.9% to 459,500 decaliters, down from 1.09 million decaliters a year earlier. Rosalkogoltabakkontrol did not provide price data, so the release did not explain whether the drop reflected regulation, assortment changes, consumer preference or a mix of factors.

Wine sales also softened. Still grape wine fell 2.8% to 31.265 million decaliters. Fortified wine dropped 6.3% to 631,200 decaliters. Fruit wine sales were down 36.4% to 1.034 million decaliters.

Sparkling wine was the main exception in the wine business. Its sales rose 3.7% to 11.801 million decaliters, making it the only major wine category to record growth during the January-to-July period.

Russia’s broader fermented drinks market also weakened. Total sales of beer, beer drinks, cider, poiret and mead fell 2.4% to 413.917 million decaliters, compared with 423.976 million decaliters a year earlier.

Beer remained by far the largest category in that group, but it declined 2.6% to 351.285 million decaliters. Nearly all of that volume came from beer with an alcohol content between 0.5% and 8.6%, which also fell 2.6% to 351.252 million decaliters. Beer above 8.6% alcohol dropped 12.3% to 33,100 decaliters. Beer-based drinks fell 3.8% to 54.392 million decaliters.

Some smaller fermented categories grew even as beer lost ground. Cider sales climbed 26.2% to 6.369 million decaliters, and mead rose 7% to 1.793 million decaliters. Poiret, a pear-based drink, went the other way, falling 25.9% to 77,800 decaliters. Taken together, cider, poiret and mead increased 20.7% to 8.24 million decaliters.

The wine data also showed mixed movement in grape-based flavored products. Sales of grape-containing beverages without added ethyl alcohol fell 27.1% to 103,300 decaliters, while sales of grape-containing beverages with ethyl alcohol increased 4.4% to 839,400 decaliters. In fruit-based alcohol, fruit alcoholic products totaled 820,800 decaliters, down 35%, and fruit alcoholic drinks fell 41.3% to 213,100 decaliters.

Rosalkogoltabakkontrol had previously reported that alcohol sales in Russia in 2025 fell 9.3% from the previous year to 205.798 million decaliters.