While all the headlines indicate that the Whiskey Industry is Crashing, Overstocked, Tariff Impacted or Generationally Outdated, what you have to keep in mind that this is just a cycle. Since the 1700’s there has been ups and downs in the distilling industry as consumers have shifted their preferences based on cultural norms or economic factors. Ireland , which is the size of South Carolina, had 1200 Distilleries in 1780’s and was the leading exporter of whiskey; more than Scotland and America’s combined. As time passed, these numbers dwindled to 3 distillers by 1970’s due to change in taste, technological innovation and world politcs. Since the 2010, there has a re-emergence within Ireland seeing expansion to about 45 distillers.

There are a multitude of factors that went into this decline and rebirth but the demand has continued for the past 300 years. America Bourbon has seen a huge increase since Covid. With rapid growth, there is always a contraction that balances the past frenzy. This is what the industry is seeing now. Don’t be alarmed there are plenty of barrels in the storage to go around.