What we drank: These are the liquors that got Ontario through the pandemic
As Canadians found ways to cope through the ups and downs of the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic, at the centre of small gatherings and stay-at-home orders were spirits, wines and beers.
Whether consumed individually, or cheers'-ing with a small groups, Ontario drank ... a lot.
The Star analyzed data provided by the LCBO to find out what spirits got us through the pandemic.
What we drank
Smirnoff, Nutrl and White Claw's seltzers were among the brands that frequently appeared within the top five liquors that sold the most product during the peak of pandemic lockdown in 2020.
Among the top five liquors in Ontario, the popular flavours included Nutrl's Vodka Soda, Smirnoff's Berry Blasts and White Claw's Black Cherry, mango, raspberry and watermelon.
White Claw's Black Cherry was the top liquor, selling over 700,000 units between March 3 and March 31, 2020 in Ontario.
Across Toronto, the predominant flavour of choice was White Claw's Black Cherry, selling over 600,000 from April 1 to June 20, 2020 in its most popular location, Toronto central, which covers areas like Broadview and Danforth, Bloor and Ossington, Forest Hill and Liberty Village.
Ready to drink boom
Christina Veira, cocktail expert and co-owner of Bar Mordecai in Toronto, says what all these top-selling brands have in common are the flavourful ready-to-drink products that create convenience.
I think at the beginning everyone decided let's make a cocktail!' But pretty quickly people realized that making cocktails, or tasty drinks takes a lot of work," Veira said. So things that are already made for them (became the better option)."
Veira explained that the luxury of going to the restaurant or bar was missing throughout many phases in the pandemic and that those are places where people tend to explore different liquor options.
For example, Veira says she saw a spike of tequila orders when restaurants were able to open for operation - something not reflected in the top five liquors from LCBO.
The outliers
At different points in the pandemic, outliers entered the top five selling liquors in Ontario. For example, during the winter months Baileys Irish Cream sold over 172,000 units.
Veira has a theory about this: a lot of Zoom calls were paired with a few shots of Baileys in coffee cups.
People like to consume and gift creamier, sweeter things going into winter," explained Veira. But if we're being honest December, January and February of 2021, we had a stay-at-home order and people were stuck on Zoom. And we all know that Baileys and coffee goes very well together."
Veira's bar even sold a cocktail kit during the 2020-21 winter season called Zoom Fatigue' that included Baileys along with spices, coffee, oat milk, cookies, vodka and chips.
Mark Phillips, Director of Marketing at Diageo, the company that makes Baileys, agrees with Veira about the creamy liquor being a holiday treat.
Baileys had an unbelievable few months right through the heart of COVID and that trend has continued with people at home," said Phillips. Baileys is a brand that is all about treating and people were certainly treating themselves over the past year."
In Toronto specifically some outliers appeared to have to do with location. For example, at many Scarborough LCBO stores, Smirnoff beat out White Claw consistently and Crown Royal also made it into top five ranks between October 2020 and January 2021.
Locations in North York, an area that includes Bayview Village, Jane and Finch, Sheridan Mall and York Mills Gardens, saw Hennessy VS Cognac and Crown Royal enter the top five.
Changes from the before' times
Smirnoff was a reigning champ pre-pandemic before White Claw's flavours secured the top three places. However, the popular vodka brand rarely fell short from the top five across Ontario, despite the products not being ready-to-drink.
Phillips credits a loyal client base and the sense of nostalgia flavours like pink lemonade and Berry Blast brought in the pandemic. Phillips says those flavours may be what consumers grew up on, and what they longed for during the pandemic.
We have invested consistently in (Diageo) brands for decades. And it's when things like this happen that the true strength of your brand comes out," said Phillips.
What the pandemic did was it really validated that loyalty and the consumer base that we have within these brands and we're certainly appreciative of that."
Another pre-pandemic winner was Chum Churum, a Korean rum that was spotted consistently from April 2019 to February 2020 at some LCBO locations in North York. This is likely to do with the area along Yonge Street, between Sheppard and Steeles, being known as Toronto's other Koreatown" or Koreatown North.
Veira says that the brand's low alcohol percentage makes for a nice in-between space" when people are causally dining or singing karaoke - things that happened a lot less throughout the pandemic.
Danica Samuel is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach her via email: dsamuel@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @danicasamuel