American whiskey sales fall 19% year-on-year
In a year when Suntory has “paused” distilling at one of its Jim Beam facilities and as Jack Daniel’s owner Brown Forman discusses getting together with Pernod Ricard, the depth of the depression affecting America’s whisky and bourbon producers has been spelt out in a new report.
For the first time, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (Discus) has released export figures.
They show that exports of American whiskey fell by 19% in 2025, down US$250 million. Overall, spirits exports were down 3.8%. On top of that Discus had already reported that domestic sales of US spirits were down 2.2%, doubling the decline from the previous year.
Kentucky and Tennessee distillers had hoped that they could eat into their record levels of stocks in 2025 by boosting exports, but that market was choked off by uncertainty over tariffs, according to the report.
With some 16 million barrels of excess stock in Kentuck alone, “Exports remain a critical path forward, especially amid a slowdown in domestic sales and high inventory levels,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of Discus
“Stable, tariff-free trade and expanding market access abroad are essential to ensuring continued growth for the US spirits sector, he said.
Kentucky leads the race
The report showed Kentucky as the top spirits exporting state in the US with more than $799 million in shipments in 2025, followed by Tennessee with $793 million, the lion’s share of which is Jack Daniel’s.
The decline in exports across the board was caused by ongoing trade friction, retaliatory actions and broader economic headwinds, Discus said.
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The two biggest negatives in the year were Canada’s ban on selling American-made spirits, which began just over a year ago when President Trump threatened to “annex” Canada, and the previous year’s front-loading of shipments to the European Union ahead of potential retaliatory tariffs.
The report shows that exports to Canada of US spirits (mostly whiskey) fell by more than 70% year-on-year after the ban came into effect in March 2025. Between March and December they fell by $143 million,
For the full year, American whiskey sales to Canada fell by 57% to $33 million.
Exports to the EU were 35% lower in 2025, after some producers accelerated exports in the second half of 2024 to beat potential retaliatory of EU tariffs. And US distillers still face the uncertainty of a potential 30% tariff on their spirits in the EU from August.
Exports of American whiskey to Japan also fell 28%, to $57 million, according to Discus.
Top export markets
The top export markets for US spirits in 2025 were the EU, (worth $1.2 billion), the United Kingdom ($153 million), Australia ($138 million), Mexico ($127 million) and Canada ($89 million). Together those five markets accounted for 72% of all US spirits exports.
“With domestic demand slowing, exports to international markets represent a critical path to reducing excess inventory and ensuring the sustainability of American Whiskey makers. If trade related uncertainty and disruptions continue to erode export volumes, U.S. distillers could face mounting pressure and financial strain,” the report said.
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