LCB takes spirits, wines off inventory list
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May the road rise up to meet you, Bailey's Irish Cream Coffee Liqueur.
Au revoir, Lucid Absinthe Superieure.
Dasvidaniya, Pinnacle Banana Vodka.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control board has pared its product inventory in one of the biggest so-called delistings in recent years. More than 150 spirits were removed from the PLCB's inventory list in January and will be marked at closeout prices and no longer be stocked in state stores. Dozens were culled by the producers and distributors themselves.
Some will remain available by special order, others will remain stocked in more standard bottle sizes. In all, 158 spirits are getting the hook. That's about 12 percent of what had been the total in-store selection, said Nathan Lutchansky, whose blog, plcbusersgroup.org, tracks the PLCB's inventory changes.
Overall, 396 products are to be delisted, with the balance of them (more than 60 percent) being wines, not spirits. There are more wine product units stocked than spirits, although spirits, because they are generally more expensive, account for more than 60 percent of retail sales. (Table wine, boxed wine and sparkling wine, such as champagne, make up about 38 percent of retail sales income.)
"They essentially took an ax to their vodka selections and their flavored cordials. It was a long time coming," said Mr. Lutchansky. He and other spirits advocates have been pushing the PLCB to align its product selection with what might be seen in a private liquor store -- that is, more Scotches and fewer grape-flavored vodkas.
Delisting 158 spirits products in one shot is a big purge; compare that to the 215 spirits products that were delisted in 2009 and 2010 combined.
These major purges happen periodically, said PLCB spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman. The PLCB makes monthly adjustments to its wine and spirits lineup and conducts a smaller purge once or twice a year.
"Every two years we take a more extensive look and do something larger," she said. "That's something that we regularly do as a part of doing business. We want to make sure we are providing the products that people want."
Apparently people didn't want flavored vodkas. Skyy ginger-flavored vodka, Grey Goose orange vodka, Rain Organic lavender lemonade vodka, Smirnoff raspberry vodka and several others were cut.
First Published February 2, 2011 12:00 am
