On the afternoon of Sunday, March 15, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that all bars and restaurants in the state would have to close by 9 p.m. that evening. It was among the first in a string of stunning orders given to help slow the spread of the coronavirus that have altered daily life.
But daily life goes on, and getting through it has required alcohol. And boy did the Buckeye State require it.
From that Sunday through Saturday, a stretch which included a quarantine-style St. Patrick's Day, Ohioans bought 437,507 gallons of liquor, $38.7 million worth.
That represented a 63 percent year-over-year increase.
That's just the liquor, folks. Ohioans were also buying beer in record quantities.
Though the state reports that sales have slowly retreated since the first week of prepper-style booze stockup, the month of March will still see a record amount of sales in both volume and dollars.
And what, exactly, are we buying.
First and foremost, 1.75-liter bottles of Tito's, which was easily the top seller across the state.
Rounding out the top 10 sellers: Woodford Reserve, Maker's Mark, Jack Daniel's, Jameson, Crown Royal in both peach and apple flavors, Hennessey and Patron Silver.
