The Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) released its annual economic report this week, and as expected there was some bad news about spirits sales, particularly in the ultra-premium sector, as well as more warnings about how the Trump administration’s tariffs will affect the American whiskey industry. But there were some bits of good news, as the report showed that the spirits sector still held more market share in 2024 than other alcohol categories, part of a 20-year trend of gains.
The spirits industry overall was a mix of declines and gains. According to DISCUS president and CEO Chris Swonger, U.S. spirits supplier sales were down by 1.1 percent in 2024 (the equivalent of $37.2 billion), but volumes rose by an equal amount (312.2 million nine-liter cases). The spirits sector has gained more than 13 points of the larger alcohol market since 2000 (42.2 percent in 2024). As far as individual categories, the areas that showed growth were tequila and mezcal (up 2.9 percent, $6.7 billion) and RTDs (up by an impressive 16.5 percent, $3.3 billion). There was bad news for American whiskey, however, which was down by nearly two percent (more than $5 billion) and cordials (down 3.6 percent). Perennial favorite vodka had flat sales, but held steady with more than $7 billion in value.
As mentioned before, premium spirits—including sales of categories not produced in the U.S. like Cognac, single malt scotch, and Irish whiskey—took a hit. The most valuable category, super premium, was down by 5.6 percent; high end premium saw a small uptick of .2 percent; and premium was down by nearly 1 percent (price segmentations vary depending on the type of spirit). Value spirits, on the other hand, grew by 3.5 percent. All of this data show that consumers overall are choosing cheaper bottles of bourbon, scotch, and rye to purchase rather than seeking out high-priced limited-edition releases, a trend that is surely worrisome to luxury brands like the Macallan and Louis XIII.
As has been repeated before by many others in the industry, DISCUS is very concerned about Trump’s tariffs in 2025. “Since the suspension of the E.U.’s tariffs on American whiskey, our exports have rebounded to record highs,” said Swonger in a statement. “The reimposition of these tariffs at a 50 percent rate would gut this growth and do irreparable harm to distillers large and small.” Sonat Birnecker Hart, president and founder of Koval Distillery in Chicago, reiterated the damage that has been done to craft distilleries, and how much more there could be. “Many craft distillers have expended great time, effort, and resources to expand into international markets only to see their dreams shattered by tariffs that have absolutely nothing to do with our industry,” she said. “The return of tariffs will not only hurt my distillery but my local farmer too, and this pain will be felt in towns and cities across the country where 3,000 small craft distilleries are boosting jobs, tourism and agriculture.”
It remains to be seen what 2025 will bring as far as consumers’ thirst for expensive spirits, and the return of tariffs will, of course, play a big part in this. Swonger says that DISCUS is talking directly with the Trump administration to voice its concerns, and it’s true that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico have been delayed by a month. On the other hand, a 25 percent tariff was just slapped on steel and aluminum imports, which increases the odds that the E.U. will reimpose its 50 percent tariff on American whiskey. And that, unfortunately, could lead to higher prices, layoffs, and ultimately be a death blow for some small distilleries.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker