In what has become an annual contest for second-best, the state agency that oversees the sale of hard liquor in Maine has released the statewide sales figures for 2006.

The top-selling brand in the state, as it has been every year for more than the past decade, is Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy. Last year, there were 993,795 bottles of Allen’s worth a total of $11,853,950 sold in Maine. These totals include sales of four different bottle sizes of the alcohol, which is made by M.S. Walker Inc. in Somerville, Mass.

The booze is so popular that its various bottle sizes rank first, second, sixth and ninth on the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations’ list of the top 25 alcoholic items sold in the state last year. No other brand appears more than once in the top 10.

Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum had the second-highest revenue total in Maine in 2006 with $4,736,412, or about $7 million less than Allen’s. Bacardi Light rum, with annual revenues of $4,275,107, had the second-highest bottle-sale total with 253,643. That figure represents about 1,300 more bottles than the 252,300 that Captain Morgan’s sold in Maine last year.

Orloff Vodka, whose 314,000 bottles sold in 2005 ranked second that year, sold only 212,000 bottles in Maine in 2006, dropping to fourth on the list in that category. It ranked fifth last year for revenue with $2.3 million earned in Maine.

Absolut Vodka sold 135,000 bottles, or about 77,000 fewer bottles than Orloff, but ranked fourth in terms of revenue with $3.3 million.

The rankings for Allen’s coffee brandy show a slight change from the previous year. Its largest bottle, the 1.75-liter size, held its perennial position in the top spot. Allen’s 1-liter bottle rose from third to second, surpassing Orloff’s 1.75-liter bottle in terms of units sold. The two largest Allen’s bottles most recently held the top two positions in 2004.

The rankings for Allen’s two other bottle sizes held steady, with the 750-milliliter bottle staying at sixth place and the 375-milliliter bottle keeping its position as ninth on the list.

In 2005, Allen’s sold approximately 992,000 bottles worth a total of $11.6 million in Maine, slightly less in both categories than it did last year.