Bourbon and the distilling industry as a whole are going through some tough times today, but are they as bad as the bad days of the 1960s and 70s? I thought I would do a historical comparison of the two times and see if we can answer that question.

First of all, both times were hallmarked by overproduction.  The over-production issue in the 1960s started in the 1950s when Schenley over-produced because they were afraid of another wartime prohibition at the outbreak of the Korean War. This miscalculation caused them to shut down many distilleries forever. The over-production of today is caused by distilleries producing heavily during the boom years and they have more whiskey than they can sell in the market today. They have closed down production in some instances but as a whole they do plan to re-open the distilleries in the future. In fact, there are more distilleries today than there were in the post-World War era as the boom time caused the growth of distilling in America. There have been some distilleries to close, but that is due more to financial reasons than over-production. 

Next, there is the lack of consumer demand. In the 1960s, with the Vietnam War, we had a generation that rejected everything their parents stood for and they quit drinking whiskey and turned to wine, beer and vodka. The distilling industry also had to compete with the drug culture of the youth. Young people were smoking joints instead of drinking whiskey. Today you have the same competition with cannabis because it is legal now in many states, but I would argue that it is not easier to get marijuana today than it was in the 1960s. Young people are also not drinking alcohol as a whole today so that has caused a decline in whiskey consumption, but I have to wonder how big a percentage of the market is made of the 21-30 year old consumers of whiskey.

Then there is the price of whiskey. In the 1960s the distilleries lowered the price of whiskey to try to sell their products. This cheapened the image of whiskey and drove many people away from drinking it. Today, prices are steady on the average whiskey. There are high prices on some brands, but you can still get a good Bourbon or Rye whiskey for about $25 or less. The economic hard times of today will cause many of the more expensive bottles to stay on the shelf longer as people cannot afford to purchase those brands and those prices may well drop in the future.

The big difference between the 1960s and 70s and today is the export market. Bourbon was big in Japan and was growing in Europe as American GIs in overseas military bases were sharing it with the local people, who developed a taste for Bourbon. Today, trade wars caused by the present administration have caused a decline in this market. Where in the 1960s and 70s the export market helped keep distilleries in business, today that market is shrinking daily.

Finally, the Whiskey Tourism of today did not exist in the1960s and 70s. The only distilleries offering tours with a dedicated visitors center was Maker’s Mark and Jack Daniels. Today, just about every distillery in America is open for tours and people are still taking the tours. This gives distilleries an additional source of income from sales of bottles and other distillery related merchandise as tourists rarely go home without making a purchase in the gift shop.

Distilleries are going through hard times today but it is not as bad as it was in the 1960s and 70s. It may take some years to recover but overseas markets will return when the tariffs are repealed with a new administration. Young people grow up and tastes change. Like the baby boomer generation that turned their back on whiskey, but eventually found a taste for it, you can expect the same will happen with this generation. We may not see the huge growth of the boom years, but we will see the decline in sales stop and a slow and steady growth in whiskey sales.

Photo Courtesy of Rosemary Miller