Bernick’s has been in the beverage business for more than 100 years, and if there’s one thing we know – it’s that the industry doesn’t stay the same for long. Consumer preferences change, new products gain momentum, and the businesses we serve have to continually evaluate what deserves a place on their shelves, menus, and behind the bar.
Our portfolio has evolved right along with those changes. What started with soft drinks has grown to include beer, water, coffee, sports and energy drinks, juice, THC | CBD beverages, and much more. In 2025, we added another important category to that list: spirits.
The decision to expand into spirits came down to something pretty simple: it made sense for our customers. Adding spirits gives retailers, restaurants, bars, hospitality businesses, and other partners access to more of the beverages they need through a distributor they already know and trust.
Why Spirits — And Why Now?
Take a look at a beverage aisle or drink menu today and you’ll find more variety than ever. Consumers are choosing beverages based on the occasion, flavor, price point, convenience, and the experience they want. That has created plenty of opportunity, but it has also made choosing the right product mix more complicated for businesses.
The beverage alcohol category is changing, too. NIQ’s 2025 Beverage Alcohol Year in Review found that consumers are drinking more intentionally, with moderation, premiumization, and occasion playing a bigger role in purchasing decisions. At the same time, the Distilled Spirits Council reports that spirits continue to account for a significant share of the U.S. beverage alcohol market, with categories such as spirits-based ready-to-drink products creating new opportunities.
For Bernick’s, those trends matter, but our customers matter more. We pay attention to what they’re asking for and where we can make their jobs easier. Adding spirits was a logical next step in building a beverage portfolio that better serves those needs.
Mike Bamonti, Vice President – Market Strategy at Bernick’s, summed it up when the new offering was announced:
“Bernick's is excited to enter the spirits space with brands from Diageo, Sazerac, Suntory/Beam, and Tito's, and many more coming in the near future. This gives Bernick's the opportunity to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for our retail partners and a single source for all of their beverage needs.”
That’s really what this beverage portfolio expansion is about. We’re adding products, but we’re also giving our customers another way to simplify how they manage their beverage business.
From Familiar Favorites to Premium Pours
The right spirits mix is going to look different from one business to the next. A neighborhood bar may need the recognizable staples customers expect to see behind the bar, while a liquor retailer might need a much wider selection across categories and price points. A restaurant building a cocktail menu has a different set of priorities altogether.
The Bernick’s spirits portfolio includes nationally recognized products from suppliers including Diageo, Sazerac, Suntory/Beam, Fifth Generation, and others. That brings brands such as Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Crown Royal, Smirnoff, Don Julio, Southern Comfort, Captain Morgan, Baileys Irish Cream, and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky into the Bernick’s lineup, with additional products continuing to expand the selection.
Having options at different price points is important. Premium spirits continue to perform well in many settings; NIQ data, for example, has shown premium and ultra-premium spirits gaining share in U.S. bars and restaurants. But premium isn’t the answer to every shelf or menu decision. Familiar brands, dependable value options, and products that fit your particular customer base are just as important.
That’s why we’ve always encouraged our customers to think about product mix rather than simply product quantity. Nobody knows your customers quite like you do. The goal is to offer enough variety to give them choices without filling valuable shelf or menu space with products that don’t make sense for your business.
One More Category, Fewer Moving Pieces
There’s an obvious benefit to having more products available through Bernick’s, but there’s another side to this expansion that matters just as much: convenience.
Managing multiple vendors takes time. So does keeping up with product changes, category trends, orders, deliveries, and all of the other details that come with running a retail or hospitality business. If you already work with Bernick’s for other beverage categories, adding spirits allows you to bring more of that business under one relationship.
That relationship also goes beyond delivery. A good beverage distributor should understand what you sell, what’s moving, and where there may be opportunities to improve your mix. Our team stays immersed in beverage trends, new products, and changing consumer preferences so we can share that knowledge with our customers and help them make informed decisions.
For a retailer, that might mean looking at where there are gaps in a spirits assortment or identifying products worth bringing in for a particular season. For a restaurant or bar, it could mean considering which products fit the menu, clientele, price points, and overall beverage program.
The answer isn’t always “add more.” Sometimes it’s choosing differently, making room for something new, or sticking with the reliable sellers your customers keep asking for. Our job is to help you figure out what makes the most sense.
Building a Better Beverage Portfolio
Consumers don’t necessarily think about beverages in the same categories the industry does. They think about what sounds good with dinner, what they want to bring to a get-together, what they’re willing to spend on a night out, or whether they want alcohol at all. That’s just one reason having a broad beverage portfolio matters.
A restaurant may need spirits for its cocktail program, beer on tap, soft drinks for the fountain, mixers behind the bar, and non-alcoholic choices for guests who aren’t drinking. A retailer could be serving the same customer across several completely different occasions throughout the week. Looking at those categories together can help businesses better understand where their opportunities are.
It’s especially relevant as moderation becomes more common. IWSR research has found that consumers are increasingly moderating their alcohol consumption without necessarily leaving the category altogether. Someone may choose a cocktail one night and a non-alcoholic beverage the next, or simply drink less frequently and be more selective about what they choose when they do.
For retailers and operators, variety still matters. The difference is that variety should be intentional. A strong beverage program gives customers choices that make sense for the business rather than trying to chase every new product or trend that comes along.
New Category, Same Approach to Partnership
Spirits may be a newer category for Bernick’s, but the way we’re approaching it isn’t new at all. We’ve spent more than a century building relationships with businesses throughout the communities we serve, learning their needs, adjusting as the industry changes, and expanding our offerings when opportunities arise to better support our customers.
Our spirits distribution expansion is another part of that evolution. It gives customers access to more products while maintaining the local service, reliable distribution, product knowledge, and support they already expect from Bernick’s.
As the spirits portfolio continues to grow, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: paying attention to what consumers are drinking, listening to what our customers need, and helping businesses find the beverage mix that works for them.
