Oxford Alcohol Sales Match Rising Mississippi Trend

By Sarah Brooks Adams
Journalism student

Mississippians have set records for alcohol consumption in recent months. The state’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) said it delivered four million cases of alcohol to stores and restaurants in 2020 — that’s up about half a million cases from the year before.

Oxford Wine & Spirits Manager Andy Pretty is not surprised. He says that, unlike many other businesses around town, the liquor store has been open and sales have been booming.

“Sales have been way up,” Pretty said. “Every single month, we have done $20,000 more than we did last year.”

Pretty said he has never seen the store so busy, and added that he is constantly ordering more inventory.

“We sell so much more wine than we did last year,” Pretty said. “We’ve been selling out of a lot of stuff.”

According to Pretty, the Mississippi’s ABC has actually been struggling to supply his store with certain popular brands of liquor, like Hennessy Cognac.

One of the possible reasons why liquor store sales have seen an increase is that bars have had to limit capacity during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“The bars made it seem impossible to go out and have fun because of covers, max capacity and having to sit down, but me and my friends still find ways to have fun,” Ole Miss student Mary Miley said.

Miley said she and her friends have been getting creative with team cocktail-making competitions and simply staying home for girls’ nights. But at the end of the day, Miley said there is one important thing that hasn’t changed- the need to “drink responsibly”.