September 13, 2002 -- For months, we've been telling anyone who asks that alcopops, the so-called 'malternatives' of the alcoholic beverage world, were destined to fade from the limelight over time, just as all fad drinks eventually do. Now no less a credible source than the New York Times seems to agree.

In an article datelined September 12, Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott suggests that alcopops may have already reached their peak, and that the market has shown signs of beginning to tail off.

In the article, Elliott quotes William Pecoriello, beverage analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York, as saying that sales of alcopops like Smirnoff Ice, Skyy Blue and others "peaked in July" at just a little more than 3.5 percent of total beer industry volume. Pecoriello also described many newly arrived brands, such as Captain Morgan Gold, Sauzo Diablo, and Stolichnaya Citrona, as "nonstarters," Elliott reports.

If indeed this does mark the beginning of the end for alcopops, all we at World of Beer can add is a hearty "Good Riddance."

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