Happy National Tequila Day, America! With George Clooney selling his tequila brand and Dwayne Johnson starting his own tequila brand, it seems like a great time to delve into the numbers and statistics of our favorite drink.
Americans spent $2.7 billion on tequila in 2017, which was a $250 million increase as compared to 2016’s figure. While it stills trails both whiskey and vodka in terms of alcohol sales, this significant jump is showing a growing interest in the agave-based product.
Speaking of agave, there’s an international shortage of the plant that is used to make tequila. The average price of the agave plant has risen sixfold in the last two years due to the increased popularity of the drink. This shortage has caused farmers to harvest the plant early, as it usually takes 10 years for the agave to fully mature. You can expect a hike in tequila prices as the shortage is set to worsen until at least 2021.
But tequila is supposed to make us happy, so let’s focus on the positive: about 155 million bottles of tequila were sold in the U.S. last year. And for you dreamers out there, just know there’s a 4.5 pound, diamond encrusted bottle of tequila on sale for $3.5 million per bottle. So drink up, America, because tequila won’t be forever.
