LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Like a watered-down drink, domestic sales for American whiskeys were unsatisfying in 2024, as inflation reined in consumer spending on some distilled spirits. But it's tariffs that loom as one of the stiffest challenges ahead, threatening to deplete sales in key foreign markets, an industry group said Tuesday.
MORE-Kdee
I guess that would help whiskey prices here then.
ReplyDeleteYes hopefully! I drink JD and the price here in SoCal is up five bucks in three months.
DeleteI don't know how true that story is and how much it's another boo hoo story about demanding other countries treat us fairly in trade... Almost no one I know drinks much anymore and there's fewer younger people than in the pastso it makes sense consumption is down..
ReplyDeleteJD
A nephew, now 24 yrs, drinks whiskey. I asked how he got onboard, he said at a large party various kinds of likker was flowing. A friend suggested the good stuff. He said about five of his friends drink nothing else.
DeleteSo there's hope. I know ones and two aren't enough to keep a supplier in business.
Well just as muzzies help keep the price of bacon down, if foreigners won't buy our whiskey, maybe the prices will come back to a reasonable level.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, if your overall sales are down you are gonna push up prices where you are still selling to makeup for the loss in other markets. Either way the company is gonna suffer and when companies suffer the first thing to be cut are employees, which in turn affects the economy negatively. Tariffs generally don't work out well, time will tell.
DeleteI’m old enough to remember buying Greorge Stagg at $40, just saw it in KY for over $1300
ReplyDeleteElmer T Lee $19.99, now $300
US drinkers are paying premium so international clients can buy it cheaper….
Please spare me the tears.
We went to a small, upscale bar here in Charleston Saturday afternoon. Hadn't been there in 2 years, as the original owners sold out. Received a mixed drink list, everything was "sweet" orientated. The drink I wanted was Bulleit rye based.
ReplyDeleteAsked where that drink was, he said, "I hated mixing that crappy drink; we scrapped it a year ago." So, asked for a Tito's & soda w/ lime.
He: We don't sere that tasteless vodka. (I drink it every day).
We got up & left. OOPS! Forgot! He was Gen Z.
*shrug* I drink rum.
ReplyDeleteShell
Evan Williams is abot $20 bucks a bottle cheaper than JD, and it has 6% more alcohol. And they didn't have to be woke.
ReplyDeleteCan't go wrong with E.W. whether it's regular, honey, or cinnamon, they're all good.
Delete-lg
All of the craft stuff is so expensive, it drives me away. I prefer Jack or Jim anyway. However, as I've seen from a few posts above, mine has been going up in price, too. I can still get 5x distilled vodka for under $20. I'd rather have straight whiskey, but price matters and a vodka soda isn't bad. Beer has been creeping up over the past few years, too. Almost $20 for a 12-pack of Yuengling. I'd bet beer consumption si down, too.
ReplyDeleteGood. This news makes me happy. Maybe the domestic "flipper" market will collapse. Maybe all the d*ckheads who pay $100 for Elmer and then resell at $400 will lose their arses. I used to laugh when I saw Blanton's for $400. Now I just can't believe people are that stupid.
ReplyDeleteAnd if a "trade war" hurts the distilleries themselves, well that's good too. Eff em all! They're all owned by overseas conglomerates like Sazerac, Diageo, and Brown-Foreman. Greedy effin basterds! They deliberately reduce production and inflate prices to cultivate this "exclusive high-end reserved craft" marketing bullsh*t. Bourbon is churned out in literal ocean-size volumes. When a rickhouse collapses, there are massive fish-kills in nearby rivers. Hell, the entire Heaven Hill distillery burns down about every 7 years but they never seem to run out of Elijah Craig.
Yeah sure, I used to hunt down and collect Pappy, Antique 107, McKenna 10yr BIB, Old Fitz, Elmer, Stagg, Four Roses Barrel Strength, and all of them. But now all that stuff is unobtanium and selling at a prices where everyone's just lost their dang minds.
Now I've given up. I don't enter "lotteries" or wait 6 hours in the cold to buy "allocated" hooch. I just buy Maker's Cask, Old Grandad 114, KnobCreek 120, Benchmark Full Proof, Pikesville Rye, Evan Williams BIB, Russel's Reserve 10yr, and a few others. I'd take any of these available and affordable whiskeys over Pappy 15yr and day of the week.