The American whiskey industry is struggling

Things aren’t going as sweet as Tennessee whiskey for those in the industry, following a Covid lockdown-driven run-up of sales. In other words: whiskey-makers are experiencing a hangover of their own.

• Sales volumes of US whiskey – including bourbon, Tennessee, and rye – dropped 1.2% in 2023, marking the first fall since 2002, according to industry tracker IWSR.
• That drop steepened last year, with volumes down 4% in the first nine months of 2024.

Many distilleries are scrambling. Health concerns, as well as the popularity of anti-obesity drugs, cannabis, and low- and no-alcohol drinks, is stifling consumer demand, the Wall Street Journal reports. Two years ago, the Family Jones distillery in Denver was selling barrels of bourbon for $2,000/pop – now they’re struggling to move similar barrels for $900.

Not just whiskey. In 2023, the volume of spirits sold in the US declined for the first time in nearly three decades, per IWSR. The wine industry is also dealing with its own existential crisis.

👀 Looking ahead…Pour in some hair of the dog, because whiskey’s future looks about the same as yesterday. A deal between the US and EU that paused proposed 50% tariffs on imports of American whiskey into Europe is set to expire at the end of March. If enacted, it would make it tougher for US whiskey-makers to sell to European consumers.