
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993                   TAG: 9305010074
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: LEIGH ALLEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

OUT WITH THE RARE, IN WITH THE MODERN - BOOZE, THAT IS

Finding that rare brand of scotch or your favorite Asian liqueur at a neighborhood ABC store becomes a little tougher today. Taking their place will be a new assortment of alcoholic fruit drinks.

Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control stores began stripping their shelves in January of items that weren't selling. A new round of cuts, eliminating the state's obscure alcoholic offerings, takes effect today.

In all, more than 150 of the state agency's least-popular items have been pulled from the shelves since early this year, said ABC merchandising head Virginia Adams. Most of the discontinued items were removed in January and a couple dozen more vanished at the close of business Friday.

The reason is a steady decline in alcohol consumption over several years and demand for more "light" products containing less alcohol.

"We've got a new generation of drinkers that's going away from the hard stuff," said Patrick Campbell, ABC supervisor for Southwest Virginia.

What's more popular with the youngsters?

"Breezers, cocktails and coolers," he said. He expects ABC's newest item, Jack Daniel's Country Cocktails, a mixture of bourbon with lemonade or limeade, to be a hot seller this summer.

Packaged similarly to beer in single-serving bottles and six-packs, the cocktails are more portable than traditional liquor bottles and do not require mixing - making them popular with drinkers on the go. They sell for $1.50 per 200 milliliter.

But another popular item among college-age drinkers, grain alcohol, is on the way out. ABC spokesman William Gee said stores no longer will offer the potent spirit after July 1.

He said a study commissioned by Gov. Douglas Wilder found that grain alcohol contributed to sexual assault on college campuses because it was deceptively intoxicating.

by CNB