Kentucky has had a rough 2025 for all kinds of reasons – but let’s face it, the biggest one is the bourbon downturn.
Distilleries have been closing down across Kentucky all year as the bourbon market enters a huge contraction.
And while there are certainly longer-term issues at play (we’ll get into those in a moment), a huge factor has been foreign boycotts of American alcohol as the trade war sparks global backlash.
Unfortunately, the pain is ongoing and steadily worsening as economic losses keep piling up.
Case in point: Kentucky recently lost another distillery, Garrard County Distilling Co. in Lancaster, which has closed and also been placed into receivership in bankruptcy.
It’s rough news for local hardworking Kentuckians who are now out of a job…and unfortunately, it’s just another recent example of the bourbon market downturn that has claimed so many distilleries, jobs, and dreams.
Of course, the trade war is the latest issue and helped push many companies off the edge…but the bourbon market has had longstanding problems that have made some kind of correction all but inevitable, eventually.
The combination of overbuilding and falling demand as Americans’ preferences change (Gen Z is leaning more toward alcoholic seltzers or even exiting alcohol altogether) has set up many distilleries for trouble.
And as the economy slows, we’re seeing many mid-tier bourbons suffering as people flee to cheaper price points.
Which is all to say – unfortunately the pain is likely to continue across Kentucky.
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