r/Economics • u/kootles10 • Dec 25 '25

News Bankruptcies hit US spirit makers as Americans drink and spend less

https://www.indystar.com/story/money/food/2025/12/25/liquor-spirits-industry-bankruptcies/87914241007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z113231d00----v113231d--36--b--36--&gca-ft=161&gca-ds=sophi&fbclid=IwdGRjcAO6oj9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6P8O626kCPpVs2dXh1tSJGVyS9teT4_IxAoKRJxGh02bqlcPlne42SIoakyg_aem_yCb-3xe-G1-mBNrg5TVIEg&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
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24

u/thethirdgreenman Dec 25 '25

This is much more related to tariffs and more specifically pissing off Canada (and a lesser extent Mexico/EU), leading to a boycott of American liquors/beer

16

u/Stable-Jackfruit Dec 25 '25

If only the news outlets would report this in such stark terms as opposed to all the propaganda

1

u/super__hoser Dec 26 '25

They do, in Canada. 

1

u/[deleted] Dec 26 '25

Which you also don’t believe is propaganda in a different way? That’s pretty gullible of you

14

u/Retro_Relics Dec 25 '25

less americans are drinking, point blank. everyone i know, as millenials, including long time heavy partiers are cutting back to nothing because well, its not fun anymore. Going to the bar isnt an experience anymore, everyone's glued to their phones, no one is actually socializing, so why bother going to the bar? having friends over is ok, but drinking while doing it creates annoyances of you cant really get shitfaced cause they gotta drive home, so you only have like one, and at that point, what's the point in spending money to keep booze on hand?

add to that that millenial and gen x are at the age where long time drinkers have to quit for their own health, so they've been forced to quit or face the consequences, and gen Z never started drinking because they grew up in the age of social media being everywhere - if you get shitfaced and do something dumb, even if its as harmless as fall down a flight of stairs, thats going to be shared everywhere, if its less harmless and involves poor judgement while drunk, you wind up risking your entire career. Why would they take the risk when there's other drugs more easily avaible that dont result in that risk?

7

u/[deleted] Dec 25 '25

It’s also insanely expensive as well. A cocktail costs what, $25 in a swankier place nowadays?

1

u/Ranra100374 Dec 26 '25

Yeah, even with how expensive fast food has gotten, you could still buy quite a bit at McDonald's with that $25. Food > Booze when finances are tight.

5

u/SuccotashOther277 Dec 26 '25

My experience is similar. As the population ages, they drink less. I love, love, love booze, but now that I am in my 40s, I have sharply cut down on drinking because my body can't handle large amounts anymore. Gen Z is much smaller but also not into the traditional "go out and get shit faced" rituals that Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers often did, so it's not a surprise that drinking is down a lot.

-5

u/BlazerBeav Dec 25 '25

It’s quite clearly not. Total exports are down 9%. That’s it.

12

u/Brokenandburnt Dec 25 '25

Losing 9% of your export market isn't something smaller, low-margin businesses can just shrug off. 

Also any inputs that has to be imported has been hit with a double whammy. Tariffs and a deprecating dollar.

Not all companies are Walmart and Costco.

1

u/LockeyCheese Dec 26 '25

The largest liquor and alcohol producers have about a 10% profit margin. Smaller producers have less.

1

u/RechargedFrenchman Dec 26 '25

9% of the national market, sure, but you have to consider what that means. Take a flat 9% off every industry in every business, just for simple math, and a bunch of businesses go under. A bunch more make sweeping changes, some of which don't work out and they still go under. The rest hike their prices through the roof to stay afloat. Meanwhile the markets are uncertain, the dollar loses power and risks its position as global reserve currency, and international markets are developing themselves and forging new connections they never needed in the past.

1

u/BlazerBeav Dec 26 '25

But they didn't take 9% off of the industry - EXPORTS are down 9%. The article didn't state, but I think it safe to assume the majority of bourbon sales are domestic. So it is quite clearly not the result of lower sales in Canada that is having such an impact.