U.S. SPIRITS RECOVER FROM DECEMBER

January was a good months for spirits in the U.S., reports Melissa Earlam of UBS, after volumes were down 3.04% in December. NABCA (covering control states or 24% of the market) spirits volumes were up 4.12% in January 2007, rising above January 2006’s volume growth of 3.92% despite relatively challenging comps (5.7%) from January 2006.After reporting 28 consecutive months of volume share gain, Diageo’s volume grew 4.12% in line with the market. Overall, Diageo grew 5.95% for 2006. The spirits