Whiskey House is a newly built whiskey manufacturing facility in KY that specializes in sourcing , capable of producing 112,000 barrels per year .
ways . As bad as anything is , there ’ s still an enormous amount more of knowledge and passion in the consumers in the marketplace now . That ’ s not all of a sudden going away .”
“ Will those people buy at the same rate as two years ago ? No ,” he adds . “ The numbers tell us that sales are down . Is it equal across all price ranges ? No . But still , as a whole , the category is down . $ 80 to $ 100 has been hit the hardest . But there are still bottles out there that people will knife each other for . That ’ s the positive .”
WHAT ’ S GOING ON OUT THERE ?
Like many other industries , American whiskey enjoyed a sales boom during the Covid era . Consumers sheltering at home built out backbars and became bourbon experts by joining whiskey social media groups in droves . Single barrel store picks took off . Everyone bought 100 bottles ( figuratively speaking ).
Today , there ’ s little room left in back bars and basement bunkers for new purchases . Store picks saturated the market , lowering the excitement for this formerly hot trend . And with the U . S . economy in an odd place itself , consumers no longer spend as liberally on whiskey .
But they do spend . How so is interesting , and points to a peculiar future for the industry .
During a panel of industry experts hosted by Distill Ventures ( a drinks accelerator backed by Diageo ) in NYC this past spring , the subject of whiskey ’ s future was discussed . On the panel was veteran whiskey writer Noah Rothbaum , author of Art of American Whiskey . He saw similarities with craft beer back in the day .
“ I remember asking the brewers , ‘ Why are you making so many beers that nobody wants ?’” Rothbaum says , recalling that industry ’ s over-innovation issue . “ They were brewing beers not for consumers , but to show off .”
Is whiskey in a similar situation now ? “ I think we ’ re still scratching the surface in terms of whiskey drinkers in America and the world ,” Rothbaum says . “ People are buying whiskey with peanut butter or cinnamon spice mixed in . That ’ s a good sign to me , because those people are going to graduate to better whiskeys as they get older .”
Which raises the question : Will Gen Z drinkers eventually put down their canned cocktails and nonalcoholic beers for a premium whiskey ? The problem may be their parents .
“ There ’ s politics in what you drink ,” says panelist Clay Risen , who covers spirits ( and obituaries ) for The New York Times . “ People rage against the assumption of what their elders drank . People will reject entire brands completely if their parents drank them . Gen Xers and Millennials drink bourbon . Gen Zers want something different . There ’ s opportunity for other whiskey brands to come in .”
Panelist Holly Seidewand , founder of the boutique bottle shop First Fill Spirits in Saratoga Springs , NY , observes younger consumers approaching whiskey in a similar way that Millennials previously tore through craft beer .
“ They come in saying , ‘ What ’ s the newest bottle ? What ’ s the newest finish ?” she says . “ It ’ s drinking chaos .”
This is the same attitude that gave rise to ruinous over-innovation in craft brewing : I never want to drink the same beer twice . Is this an alarming echo for whiskey today ?
“ I think innovation can slow down ,” Seidewand says . “ There doesn ’ t need to be something new coming out from a distillery every six months . You don ’ t need eight new expressions every year .”
As for current buying patterns at retail , Seidewand sees a slowdown . “ Instead of leaving with two bottles , now people leave with one ,” she observes .
At the same time , however , innovation remains an important part of a whiskey ’ s selling point . Brands must grab consumer attention from the crowded retail shelf , and then build out a shelf on that consumer ’ s backbar with multiple different bottles to choose from . On-premise accounts have also leaned into this sales strategy .
Hotel ZaZa Dallas maintains a sizable whiskey selection . Guests can enjoy private tastings from a selection of more
26 Beverage Dynamics • Fall 2024 www . beveragedynamics . com