Where can you learn about the latest trends in the distilling industry, visit vendors offering the supplies and technology for distilling processes – all while sampling the latest and greatest liquor? The American Distilling Institute (ADI) Craft Spirits Conference & Vendor Expo, of course!
The ADI Craft Spirits Conference and Vendor Expo took place August 23-25, 2021, in Louisville, KY, and offered a great experience for attendees. The Orbis MES team exhibited at the conference and returned with several exciting insights into the distilling industry.
After over a year of very few in-person events, the conference opened to an audience eager to learn about the latest updates in the distilling industry and its operations, including how technology can support their success.
“There seems to be a lot of interest in how technology and data can help ensure and anticipate quality and characteristics of individual batches to predict quality and taste after aging.”
During the keynote address, the speakers reminded attendees that the distillery market is nearly ten times the size it was in 2010. The Orbis team found the growth in the number of operating distilleries astounding.
“There is a lot of momentum in the industry, and the market is growing at a rapid pace,” said Orbis Account Executive Adam Sheridan.
According to industry experts at the conference, ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages continue to captivate the market, with hard seltzers being only one of the top 10 RTD spirits. The expansion of RTD drinks goes beyond seltzers to all kinds of canned cocktail products and RTD wine.
Filak noted information shared at the conference about state guidelines regulating when and where alcohol can be purchased, mainly distilled spirits.
“Nationwide, you can buy beer at over 220,000 more locations than you can buy liquor,” Filak said.
The Orbis team said they walked away with additional insights on how Orbis can support the distilling industry. They noted numerous meaningful interactions with attendees.
“The people in attendance were all very talkative and proud of their industry, which is very nice to see and be around,” Sheridan said. “We really enjoyed talking to them about their distilling operations and the businesses overall.”