Premiumization “Finally” Returning to Spirits

Dear Client: "We believe premiumization is finally starting to return to the [spirits] market," wrote Bernstein Research's Trevor Stirling in a note to clients, "and if current momentum continues, we would expect to see marked improvements in mix in Q4 and into 2011." Recent NABCA data (which covers control states) for September showed that the impact of brand mix on value growth was "marginally positive" (up 0.2%). Mix has steadily improved over the past 12 months and September was no