ANKENY, Iowa —Casey’s General Stores noticed whiskey was holding the No. 1 spot in the spirits category in the country, so it teamed up with Frankfort, Ky.-based Buffalo Trace Bourbon for a unique offer.
The Ankeny, Iowa-based convenience-store chain will sell a limited amount of Buffalo Trace Single Barrel Select Bourbon in 375 milliliter bottles in 65 stores in central Illinois.
Buffalo Trace Bourbon uses the Distillery’s mash No. 1 recipe, which is also used in favorites like Eagle Rare and George T. Stagg Bourbons, Casey’s said. A Casey’s team visited Buffalo Trace Bourbon and selected the barrel of bourbon for its offer.
The partnership is part of Casey’s goal to innovate its beer, wine and spirit offerings.
“We are excited to bring our guests new and different items alongside industry leaders like Buffalo Trace Distillery. The single barrel select bourbon will be a special find for our guests that get it while it lasts, and we plan to build more partnerships with iconic brands like this in the future,” said Chris Stewart, director of packaged beverages for Casey’s.
Spirit sales in c-stores were up more than 31% in dollar sales and 27.5% in case sales for the 52 weeks ending on Dec. 27, 2020, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI. The top-selling brands were Fireball, Crown Royal and Jack Daniels—all whiskeys.
Casey’s is No. 4 on CSP's 2021 Top 40 Update to its 2020 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by store count. It has more than 2,200 c-stores in 16 Midwestern states.
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