Bankruptcies hit US spirit makers as Americans drink and spend less
https://www.indystar.com/story/money/food/2025/12/25/liquor-spirits-industry-bankruptcies/87914241007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z113231d00—-v113231d–36–b–36–&gca-ft=161&gca-ds=sophi&fbclid=IwdGRjcAO6oj9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6P8O626kCPpVs2dXh1tSJGVyS9teT4_IxAoKRJxGh02bqlcPlne42SIoakyg_aem_yCb-3xe-G1-mBNrg5TVIEg&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
Posted by kootles10
8 Comments
From the article:
The past year has dealt makers of whiskey and other liquor a mix of challenges – from Americans cutting back on their alcohol consumption for health and spending reasons to declining exports hampered by trade issues and tariffs.
It’s not just restaurants and retailers hit with bankruptcies in 2025. Several distilleries across the U.S. filed for bankruptcy this year with the most recent of them being A.M. Scott Distillery, which was founded in 2022 in Troy, Ohio. The distiller, which operates a location in Dayton, filed for Chapter 11 on Dec. 22.
Earlier this year, other bankruptcy filings included the Luca Mariano Distillery, in Danville, Kentucky, and its parent company, LMD Holdings, which filed in August; Devils River Distillery of San Antonio and JJ Pfister Distilling Co. of Sacramento, Calif. (both in May); House Spirits Distillery of Portland, Oregon (April); and Boston Harbor Distillery of Boston and Lee Spirits Co. of Monument, Colo. (both in March).
A decline in alcohol consumption is partly to blame for bankruptcies, as a record low percentage of U.S. adults (54%) say they consume alcohol, according to a Gallup poll from August. That’s down from 58% in 2024 and 62% in 2023, according to Gallup.
Consumption in the U.S. isn’t the only concern for spirits purveyors. Trade tensions including tariffs have contributed to a 9% decline in spirit exports during the second quarter of 2025, compared to a year ago, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States’ mid-year exports report.
“… declining exports hampered by trade issues and tariffs” is an interesting way to phrase [an 85% drop](https://distilledspirits.org/news/american-spirits-exports-2025-mid-year-report-u-s-spirits-exports-decline-sharply-in-second-quarter/) in exports to one of our largest export partners after threatening to take over their country.
>“There’s a growing concern that our international consumers are increasingly opting for domestically produced spirits or imports from countries other than the U.S., signaling a shift away from our great American spirits brands”
Fuck around and find out I guess. These bourbon producing states all voted for Trump knowing full well he intended to start pointless trade wars with their biggest export markets.
Well after they strategically destroyed our stomachs with COVID one of the side effects was not needing as much to get drunk and hang overs became more painful. #truth
As a Canadian, I’m happy to report that neither me or any of my friends or family (as far as I’m aware) have bought a single bottle of American alcohol all year.
Don’t need Canada? I guess we don’t need you either.
Bourbon had a huge boom in popularity in the last 15 years and when Covid hit, it was hard to find many popular bourbons. There are small batch distilleries that popped up in 1000s of cities across the US, that has put a damper on an already swelling supply. Prices have just gotten to high, I’m. a bourbon guy and have many friends that are and everyone has the same thought. So with the big supply, extra competition, and high price, the writing is on the wall.
This is much more related to tariffs and more specifically pissing off Canada (and a lesser extent Mexico/EU), leading to a boycott of American liquors/beer
One of my clients (institutional) is a vodka distillery out of New York, but owned by a Finnish concern. They have had two consecutive years of slower sales now, and report that the tariffs did not impact them as heavily as changing tastes from the consumer have.
The thought from their new president/COO (in the US) is that a different product mix is called for.