The highly anticipated Independence Day scans are in, and how positive the results are depends on whom you ask and “where one is looking,” according to the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana.
In the week ending July 6 – encapsulating the entirety of the Fourth of July holiday weekend – bev-alc dollar sales increased 20% and volume 21% week-over-week (WoW) in Circana-tracked off-premise channels, marking a “massive acceleration” from the week prior (ending June 29), Circana EVP, BevAl Scott Scanlon wrote.
On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, bev-alc dollar sales declined 2.5%, while volume was down 4.2%. However, those percentage losses were about half of what the industry recorded over Memorial Day 2025, when dollar sales were down 5.1% and volume 7.3% YoY.
Spirits was the only category to improve dollar sales (+4.4%) and volume (+8.9%) trends compared to July 4 2024. The category’s YoY gains also accelerated compared to four-week trends (L4W) (dollar sales +1.9%, volume +6.1%). The latest figures are a stark improvement from spirits’ Memorial Day results (dollar sales +0.6%, volume -0.3%).
Within spirits, Gallo’s High Noon Sun Sips ($23.5 million) passed Tito’s Handmade Vodka ($17.4 million) to claim the top spot by dollar sales in the latest week. High Noon’s YoY gains decelerated slightly in the latest week (+2.4%) compared to the previous week (+3.6%), and Tito’s gains accelerated (latest week +4.3% YoY, previous week -0.9% YoY).
Sazerac-owned BuzzBallz secured the third spot within spirits, with more than $12.5 million in dollar sales and continued double-digit YoY gains (dollar sales +69.5%, volume +81.1%).
Other notable spirits performances over the Fourth of July include:
- No. 9 Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Cutwater Spirits, which was one of the few top spirits brands to record improved YoY trends over the weekend (dollar sales +23.6%, volume +26.2%) compared to the previous week (dollar sales +22.75, volume +25.6%);
- No. 11 Surfside, dollar sales +596.5%, volume +628.3%;
- No. 12 Don Julio, dollar sales +14%, volume +16.1%, also improving compared to the previous week’s trends (dollar sales 8.2%, volume +9.8%);
- No. 15 Boston Beer Company’s Sun Cruiser, dollar sales +670.6%, volume +707.8% (previous week dollar sales +738.7%, volume +802.1%);
- No. 21 Carbliss, dollar sales +72.1%, volume +75.2% (previous week dollar sales +36.7%, volume +36.8%);
- And No. 23 Long Drink, dollar sales +42%, volume +43.3% (previous week dollar sales +36.7%, volume +36.8%).
Beer continued to lead declines across bev-alc in the latest week, with dollar sales down 4.1% and volume down 5% YoY. However, trends were slightly improved compared to the L4W (dollar sales -4.6%, volume -5.8%) and Memorial Day results (dollar sales -6.4%, volume -7.8%).
Within beer, A-B’s Michelob Ultra ($105 million) passed sibling brand Bud Light ($104 million) for the No. 2 spot by dollar sales, with Michelob Ultra maintaining its steady YoY gains through the holiday: Week-ending July 6 dollar sales +3.1% YoY, volume +3.9%; week-ending June 29 dollar sales +3.1%, volume +3.3%.
Bud Light’s negative YoY trends from the week prior (dollar sales -9.3%, volume -10.5%) improved slightly over the Fourth (dollar sales -8.1%, volume -9%).
Meanwhile, No. 1 beer brand Constellation Brands’ Modelo ($130 million) recorded accelerated YoY declines in the latest week (dollar sales -6%, volume -7.9%) compared to the previous week (dollar sales -3.3%, volume -6%).
Beyond Michelob Ultra, two other top 25 beer brands recorded YoY gains, and improved trends compared to the week ending June 29:
- No. 11 Diageo’s Smirnoff Ice, dollar sales +8.5%, volume +7.5% (previous week dollar sales +3%, volume +0.5%);
- No. 19 Mark Anthony’s Mike’s Harder Lemonade, dollar sales +2%, volume +0.4% (previous week dollar sales +1.2%, volume -2%).
Fourth of July dollar sales gains YoY were also recorded by No. 8 A-B’s Busch (dollar sales +0.7%, volume -0.5%); No. 14 Constellation’s Pacifico (dollar sales +11.5%, volume +8.8%)
Wine followed a similar pattern to beer, with YoY declines over the Fourth (dollar sales -3.4%, volume -4.2%), improving compared to the L4W (dollar sales -4.8%, volume -5.6%) and Memorial Day trends (dollar sales -4.9%, volume -5.9%).
Beer-, wine- and spirits-based ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) – including hard seltzers and flavored malt beverages (FMBs) – eked out slight YoY dollar growth over the weekend (+0.5%), while volume declined 4.2%. The segment also recorded improvement compared to recent trends: L4W dollar sales -0.1%, volume -5%; Memorial Day dollar sales -4.4%, volume -9.2%.
“Upcoming, next week [the] focus will be on maintaining as much of the holiday growth as possible with limited retracement,” Scanlon wrote. “Will be interesting to see how many of the position shifts this week can hold: Michelob, High Noon, and the hyper performers Surfside & Sun Cruiser to name just a few.”