Tequila, while not as buoyant as in months gone by, remains a healthy spot in a sluggish US spirits market, the latest NABCA data suggests.

US sales volumes declined 0.6% to 61.3m nine-litre cases in the year to the end of November, according to figures released by the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA). Sales value inched up 0.2% to $13.63bn, the association said.

The NABCA data covers 18 control states, including off- and on-premise sales.

Month on month, volume sales fell 1.2% to 5.3m cases, contributing to a 1% decrease in sales by value to $1.21bn.

Over the 12-month period, Tequila volume sales grew 6.6% to 6.9m nine-litre cases. Sales value was up 7.9% at $2.49bn.

Month on month, US Tequila sales grew by 7.4% in volume terms in November and by 8.4% in dollar terms.

Across the year as a whole, sales of cocktails jumped 22.1% to 4.17m cases, helped by the easing of rules on the sale of canned RTDs in Pennsylvania. Sales value increased 19.1% to $347.5m.

Month on month, the volume sales of cocktails were up 38.5%, with sales by value rising 33.4%.

During November, there were five fewer selling days across the 18 states, with seven fewer in Michigan but two more in New Hampshire.

Robert Moskow, a beverage analyst for US investment bank TD Cowen, estimated sales grew 1.8% in November when adjusted for the difference in selling days.

“The improvement in November was an encouraging sign for the industry,” he wrote in a note to clients.

TD Cowen estimates the NABCA numbers account for 20-25% of the total US spirits market. “We believe this data is a more accurate reflection of category health compared to Nielsen. While Nielsen covers more geography, it does not capture the liquor store and on-premise sales reflected in NABCA data,” Moskow said.