Kentucky’s Bourbon Industry is struggling in the present days. There have been shut downs of distilleries as they cut back on production as demand is down. Consumers are not drinking as much Bourbon right now as the younger generation are turning to other spirits and there is competition from legalized cannabis that are hurting sales domestically. Another factor in the decline of sales is the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in March 2025. These tariffs and the retaliatory tariffs have driven the price of Bourbon and other American whiskeys up in the overseas markets causing a 19% drop in Bourbon exports, resulting in a drop from $550 million in sales in 2018 to $308 million in 2025. That’s a lot of bottles that are not being sold overseas. Then you have Canada. Trump’s threats to Canada have caused the Canadians to impose a consumer driven ban on drinking Bourbon, hurting the industry as much as the tariffs. Finally, according to the DISCUS annual economic briefing, consumer sentiment is at historic lows, inflation is rapidly eroding discretionary budgets, and younger adults have lower purchasing power than previous generations. The results of these downturns is that distilleries are not making as much whiskey and shutting down production and laying off workers.
However, it is not all bad news for the industry. Bourbon tourism in Kentucky is still going strong. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail reported that there were 2.7 million visitors to Kentucky distilleries in 2025. These visitors help support the distilleries and often purchase bottles to take home with them. These visitors come from all 50 states and more than 20 countries. In a day where tourism is down, particularly from foreign visitors, this is good news.
The smaller artisan distilleries have regional markets and are not as affected by the tariffs as a result. The artisan distilleries who are making good whiskey are still selling their whiskey in these markets. The Kentucky Craft Distillery Trail is included in the numbers given by the Kentucky Distillers Association for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail as a whole, and that means they are getting visitors to their distilleries. This means that the distilleries are helping the local economies as visitors not only visit the distilleries, but also purchase food, lodging and transportation to the distilleries.
The industry is hurting, but it is not like the bad old days of the 1960s and 70s. Bourbon tourism is strong. Young people grow older and tastes change and they will return to drinking Bourbon once the economic situation stabilizes and the economy rebounds. The overseas market will improve when Trump is gone and the tariffs are repealed and we heal the wounds of his threats to other countries. It will take time and until these things happen, the industry will continue to struggle.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller
April 10, 2026 at 11:52 am
Enjoyed your article. I despair that bourbon will return to boom times. There is now a strong public health movement on social media targeting alcohol as carcinogenic. This has undoubtedly gained traction amongst young people who may never return to neither bourbon nor alcohol. The damage done by Trump to our export markets will outlast his life. Finally, with the impending takeover of Brown Forman, it suggests that even the largest are falling.
April 10, 2026 at 1:20 pm
It’s not exactly a “consumer-driven ban” in Canada. Provincial governments have stopped buying American alcohol. Only Alberta and Saskatchewan still buy American alcohol. Bourbon can only be purchased “legally” in Canada if you live in Alberta or Saskatchewan. That said, many Canadians have stopped buying American products. They’re upset.