What the data said in October 2023, what it says now, and why the American whiskey market correction was never really a surprise

Jay Roberts | February 2026

The Moment

October 2023. Louisville, Kentucky. Day two of a week-long distilleries course at Moonshine University, one of the most respected programs in the craft spirits industry. I was surrounded by people planning to open distilleries. Some had already started construction. A fellow veteran going through retirement after 25 years had invested his entire life savings. The conversation at every break was identical: location, equipment, mashbill, brand story, market entry.

I stepped outside at lunch, pulled up my laptop, and started downloading data. ADA registration records. Federal TTB filings. I wanted the actual numbers, not the enthusiasm in the room.

What I Found Stopped Me Mid-Bite.

The United States had approximately 3,000 registered distilling operations at that moment, grown exponentially from fewer than 50 in the early 2000s. But that was not the number that hit me hardest. When I factored in non-distilling producers (NDPs), brands sourcing bulk liquid from MGP and bottling it under their own label, I estimated the American whiskey market was supporting something closer to 4,000 active brands competing for shelf space.

4,000 Brands. One Country. One Category.

There are roughly 135,000 licensed liquor retail accounts in the United States. An average store carries perhaps 80 to 120 whiskey SKUs, the majority locked down by established names with decades of distributor relationships. Four thousand brands fighting over whatever is left.

I went back into the classroom after lunch and listened to someone describe their business plan with complete sincerity. I did not say anything. I wrote one sentence in my bullet journal: Starting a new distillery in America right now is ludicrous.

That was October 2023. Two years  later, the data has filled in the rest of the sentence.

What This Series Has Been About

Over the past year, I published four pieces in this journal examining the economics of whisky cask investing, the cask broker landscape, the American craft distillery boom, and the world of non-distilling producers. In Part I, I warned that cask investment schemes promising 15% annual returns were selling something the market could not reliably deliver. In Part II, I called oversupply the depth charge waiting beneath the surface. In Part III, published in April 2025, I wrote: "Are we brewing up our own 21st-century Whiskey Loch?" and "when growth in consumption lags growth in production, something's got to give."

I want to revisit that question now with 2025 numbers in hand. Not because I enjoy being right about bad things happening to an industry I love. I do not. But because you deserve an honest update, and intellectually honest updates require data.

The short answer: yes, this is a market correction. The longer answer requires some precision about what has actually happened versus what has been reported.

The Canary Was Named MGP

If you want a clean read on the contract whiskey hangover, MGP Ingredients, the Indiana distillery that serves as the backbone supplier for hundreds of American whiskey brands. It is the clearest single data point for what has unfolded. In Part III, I specifically called them out: "When a company whose business is selling bulk whiskey decides to pump the brakes, you know the glut fears are real."

They did more than pump the brakes.

Full-year revenue fell from $836.5 million in FY2023 to $703.6 million in FY2024, a 16% decline. Their Distilling Solutions segment fell 43% year-over-year in Q3 2025. Brown goods specifically ( bourbon and rye, the heart of their operation) dropped 51% through nine months of 2025 versus the same period in 2024. Full-year 2025 revenue guidance is approximately $530 million. MGP will have shed roughly $300 million in annual revenue in two years.

One caveat worth your attention: headline GAAP net income fell 68% in FY2024, from $107.1 million to $34.5 million. That sounds catastrophic, and the top-line revenue number is. But $73.8 million of that net income decline was a one-time non-cash goodwill impairment in the Branded Spirits segment, not operating deterioration. Adjusted net income that year fell only 4%. Report what the number actually is. The revenue collapse is damning enough on its own without exaggerating the net income figure.

What is not in dispute: MGP's stock fell over 44%. A class-action lawsuit was filed in December 2024 alleging the company failed to adequately disclose the oversupply problem while reassuring investors that demand remained healthy. The canary did not just stop singing. It fell off the perch.

787 Fewer Distilleries

The American Craft Spirits Association released its 2025 data in October. Active US craft distillers dropped from 3,069 in August 2024 to 2,282 in August 2025. Seven hundred and eighty-seven fewer operations in a single year.

Here is the honest caveat, and I will give it to you the same way the ACSA gave it in their own report: updated research methodology means some of those 787 were reclassified, acquired, or otherwise removed from the list rather than having locked their doors. The true closure count is lower than 787. The ACSA acknowledges this directly and notes that "many distilleries simply closed their doors." The direction is not in dispute. California alone went from 379 to 207 distillers, a 45% drop.

For context, craft spirits volume fell 6.1% in 2024 by case count. The dollar value of those sales declined 3.3%. Both are first-year declines after two decades of growth.

At least 15 named brands filed for bankruptcy protection in 2025. House Spirits (Westward Whiskey), Devils River, JJ Pfister, Dented Brick, Boston Harbor, and multiple Kentucky operators. Rogue Ales and Spirits liquidated entirely in November 2025 with $16.7 million in liabilities. Uncle Nearest, one of the industry's fastest-growing and most-celebrated brands, entered receivership in August 2025 carrying over $108 million in debt.

Cash injections, celebrity investors, and compelling brand stories did not fix a flooded market. That is precisely what Part III argued they could not do.

The Barrel Mountain

Kentucky had 16.1 million barrels of bourbon aging as of January 1, 2025. An all-time record, more than three 3x the inventory the state held 15 years ago. American distillers cut production by approximately 28% through August 2025 compared to the prior year, dropping from over 197 million proof gallons to 142 million, the lowest output level since 2018. 

(A caveat: that 28% figure is derived from US Treasury data, not published directly by the TTB. The number is widely cited in trade press and consistent with the directional story, but worth noting as derived rather than primary.)

Jim Beam announced in December 2025 that its flagship Clermont distillery (operational since the mid-1930s) will sit dark for the entirety of 2026. Diageo paused production across multiple American and Scottish facilities. Brown-Forman closed its Louisville cooperage, a facility founded in 1945, eliminating 210 jobs. The five largest publicly traded spirits producers are collectively sitting on $22 billion in aging inventory, their highest level in over a decade.

The world's most recognized bourbon brand going silent is not a minor footnote. That is the signal.

What About Scotch?

US Scotch exports fell 4% in value and 9.2% in volume through the full year 2025, per the Scotch Whisky Association. But the calendar matters here. January through April 2025 saw front-loading by American importers trying to beat incoming tariffs. The May through December numbers, post-tariff, show a steeper picture: down 7% in value and 15% in volume. Early 2025 data looked better than the underlying market actually was.

In Scotland, the restructuring firm Begbies Traynor found that 69 Scottish distilleries, approximately one in five of all operating distillers, were facing significant or critical financial stress as of late 2025. This has circulated in some press coverage as "40% of Scotch distillers struggling," which is incorrect. The 40.8% figure refers to the rate of increase in the distress count from one quarter to the next, not the%age of the industry in trouble. One in five is the right number. Still striking enough.

The question I asked in Part III about a second whisky loch is no longer hypothetical.

What This Means

I am not telling you the sky has fallen, but parts of it have. In other words, low quality over-priced brands will die.

For anyone drinking whisky right now, the next five years will likely be the most favorable buying environment of the decade. Casks that were inaccessible two years ago are now available. Prices have come off speculative highs. Regarding scotch, the quality liquid that was laid down during the boom years is not going anywhere, it is just sitting in more accessible warehouses than it used to be. American whisky however, aged casks couldn't be valued at $100 a barrel in bankruptcy proceedings.

For anyone still considering starting a distillery in America: I wrote that notebook entry in October 2023, before the worst of it. The 787 operations that left the ACSA count in a single year wrote the chapter that follows. Acquisition is easier than ever, but is obtaining a capable distillery for a fraction of the cost in a market that is not saturated, but flooded, smart? Not this year. Next year the copper alone may be worth it.

We are not in a bad era for whisky. We are in a correction inside a very good era for whisky. Those are different things, and the distinction is what separates a sound decision from a panicked one.

This series will continue. The next release from The Whiskey Lab will let the liquid do the talking, say a Springbank 20+ year single cask?

---

Jay Roberts is the founder of The Whiskey Lab and co-founder of Stateside Imports. He is a former US Navy submariner and physicist.

Verified Data and Statistics

Whisky Industry Analysis: The 2024–2025 Market Correction

Research Appendix — The Whiskey Lab Journal

February 2026

The whisky industry is experiencing its most significant correction since the 1980s "whisky loch." Across every major data point — from MGP's 68% net income collapse to the 787 craft distilleries that disappeared from ACSA's count in a single year — the numbers tell a consistent story of oversupply meeting declining demand. Below is every verified statistic, sourced and flagged for accuracy, organized by article section.

1. MGP Ingredients Financial Decline

Annual Revenue

⚠  FY 2025 full-year results scheduled for release February 25, 2026. Use guidance figures until confirmed.

⚠  Excluding the Atchison distillery closure (Dec 2023), FY 2024 consolidated sales decreased only 4% vs. the reported 16%. Atchison produced grain-neutral spirits, not brown goods. Distillery Trail

Distilling Solutions Segment Sales

Brown goods specifically: Q3 2025 was $28.5M vs $57.1M (−50%). YTD 2025 brown goods: $97.2M vs $198.9M (−51%). Source: Q3 2025 PDF (Cloudfront)

Net Income

⚠  CRITICAL: The 68% GAAP net income decline is confirmed. However, $73.8M of it stems from a one-time non-cash goodwill impairment in Q4 2024, not operating deterioration. Adjusted net income declined only 4%. Always cite both figures.

Gross Profit

Note: Despite declining revenue, gross margin expanded due to mix shift toward higher-margin branded spirits and exit from low-margin Atchison production.

Q3 2025 Results — All Four Metrics Verified

Q3 2025 Press Release PDF — ir.mgpingredients.com  |  Direct PDF (Cloudfront)

2025 Guidance (Updated Q3 2025)

Production Cut Announcements — Timeline

July 12, 2023 — Atchison distillery closure announced. CEO David Colo: "The additional supply of grain neutral spirits and industrial alcohol that has entered the market during the past few years has had a meaningful and structural impact on the market." Distillery Trail | MGP 8-K filing

October 31, 2024 — Major whiskey production scale-down announced. CEO David Bratcher: "In response to the softening American whiskey category trends and elevated industry-wide barrel inventories, in 2025 we plan to further lower our net aging whiskey put away, scale down our whiskey production, and optimize our cost structure." ~35% decline in Distilling Solutions anticipated; ~50% drop in gross profits for 2025. 30% reduction in whiskey put-away already implemented for 2024. Fred Minnick | MGP press release

February 26, 2025 — FY 2024 results. Interim CEO Brandon Gall: "Elevated industry-wide barrel whiskey inventories continue to weigh on overall brown goods sales and pricing trends, pressuring our financial performance." ir.mgpingredients.com

October 29, 2025 — Q3 2025 results. CEO Julie Francis: "Our third quarter results demonstrate the resilience of our business and our team's ability to continue to deliver against our key initiatives amid ongoing industry headwinds." Stock Titan

⚠  CEO Attribution: Colo retired December 31, 2023. MGP succession announcement His statements during tenure were bullish on demand — not acknowledging oversupply. The oversupply acknowledgments came under Bratcher (2024) and subsequent CEOs. Class-action lawsuit (Case No. 1:24-cv-09685, SDNY, filed Dec 16, 2024) alleges Colo and others assured investors demand was healthy while oversupply built. Bottle Raiders coverage

Additional Context

Stock price fell over 44% after oversupply revelations. The Whiskey Wash Net debt leverage rose from 1.3x (end 2023) to 1.8x (Sept 2025). Q3 2025 PDF MGP acquired Penelope Bourbon in May 2023 for $105M upfront plus up to $110.8M earnout. MGP press release

2. American Whiskey Oversupply and Craft Distillery Closures

ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project

Released October 21, 2025, in partnership with Park Street. americancraftspirits.org

Headline stat: Active US craft distillers dropped 25.6% — from 3,069 (August 2024) to 2,282 (August 2025), a loss of 787 distilleries in a single year. The Spirits Business

⚠  CRITICAL: The ACSA report states: "Updated research methodology resulted in fewer total active craft distillers in 2025, but does not indicate all DSPs removed from the list were closed." ACSA PDF The 25.6% figure reflects both actual closures AND methodology changes. True closure rate is lower. Suggested language: 'a drop of 25.6% that reflects both closures and improved research methodology.'

Additional: Craft spirits volume fell to 12.7 million 9-liter cases in 2024 (from 13.5M in 2023), a 6.1% volume decrease and 3.3% value drop to $7.58 billion. Market share: 4.5% volume, 7.5% value. The Spirits Business

Total US Craft Distillery Count Over Time

Kentucky Barrel Inventory

As of January 1, 2024: 14.3 million barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky. Moore Colson Source: KDA.

As of January 1, 2025: 16.1 million barrels of bourbon (plus 1 million other spirits = 17.1 million total) — all-time record. Barrel tax assessed value: $10 billion (25% increase). Barrel taxes paid in 2025: $75 million (27% increase; 163% increase over 5 years). Source: KDA — kybourbon.com

US American Whiskey Volume and Value

 

Total US spirits market: $37.2B in 2024 (−1.1% from $37.7B in 2023). DISCUS Tequila/mezcal overtook American whiskey at $6.7B vs. whiskey's $5.2B. The Spirits Business

IWSR: +5% CAGR volume 2019–2022, then negative: −1% volume 2022–2023, −2% YTD Jan–Aug 2024. Standard-and-below tier −4%, value tier −8%. US total spirits −3% Jan–Jul 2024. US total beverage alcohol −4% H1 2025. IWSR press release

US Production Decline

US whiskey distillers cut output approximately 28% through August 2025 vs. prior year. 142 million proof gallons vs. 197M+ in same period 2024 — 55 million fewer proof gallons. Lowest level since 2018.

⚠  28% figure is a Gadallon Substack analysis of US Treasury TTB data — not a direct TTB publication. Corroborated directionally by Robb Report and NYT.

DISCUS economist Hasan Bakir: "The continued decline in production is likely a strategic adjustment to elevated American whiskey inventories coupled with tariff concerns impacting exports and a slowing U.S. market." Robb Report

Alcohol Consumption Trends

Only 54% of US adults say they consume alcohol — near a 90-year low. Down from 58% in 2024, 62% in 2023. Average drinks per week: 2.8 — lowest since 1996. Gallup, August 2025

Distillery Bankruptcies in 2025 — Chapter 11

Chapter 7 Liquidations

Rogue Ales & Spirits (Newport, OR) — Filed November 24, 2025. $4.9M assets, $16.7M liabilities; 1,300 barrels whiskey ($2.8M). Abruptly closed November 14. KLCC | Whisky Advocate | TheStreet

Receiverships

Uncle Nearest (Shelbyville, TN) — August 14, 2025. Defaulted on $108M in loans; inventory inflation allegations ($24M); projected $10M loss Jan–Jun 2026. WGNS Radio | TheGrio

Stoli Group (USA) / Kentucky Owl — Filed Chapter 11 November 27, 2024. Converted to Chapter 7 January 2026. $78M+ default. Fox Business | Yahoo Finance

Rebecca Harris (Catoctin Creek): "I know of probably around 50 craft distilleries that went under in 2025." VinePair

3. Westward Whiskey / House Spirits Bankruptcy

Filing Details

House Spirits Distillery LLC (dba Westward Whiskey) filed Chapter 11, Subchapter V on April 6, 2025 in US Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Case No. 25-10660). TheStreet

Diageo / Distill Ventures Wind-Down

Announced March 12, 2025. Diageo ceased bringing new brands into the Distill Ventures programme. Over £245M ($317M) invested in 35+ businesses since 2013. The Spirits Business Diageo invested in Westward through DV in 2018. Global Venturing

Asset Sale

Sold for ~$2.7M to Aqua Ardens, approved October 1, 2025, closed ~November 3, 2025. Lead principal: Luis Fernando Leal, original investor and board member since 2011. Lavishlife

CEO Thomas Mooney Quotes

"[The craft distilling community is] withering. There are more closures than openings, overall volume and revenue are down, and nearly everyone is losing money." Fred Minnick, April 2025

4. Scotch Whisky Market Data

US Scotch Sales Decline

−9% in 2024 and −6% in first 9 months of 2025 — both IWSR data (US domestic consumption, NOT SWA export data). Whisky Advocate

⚠  These are IWSR retail/consumption tracking figures. The SWA shows US export value down only −0.7% to £971M in 2024. These measure different things and should not be conflated.

SWA Export Data — 2024 Full Year

Global Scotch whisky exports: £5.4 billion in 2024, down 3.7% on 2023. Volume: 1.4 billion 70cl bottles, up 3.9% (44 bottles per second). Value down 3.7%, volume up 3.9% = confirmed trading-down indicator. SWA | The Spirits Business | Whisky Magazine | Inside the Cask

Single malt export value dropped 17% (now 31% of total). India regained #1 by volume (192M bottles, +14.6%). China fell 31.5% to £161M.

SWA Export Data — 2025 Full Year

Global exports: £5.36B, down 0.6% in value, down 4.3% in volume (1.3B bottles). US exports fell −4% in value to £933M, volume −9.2% to 120M bottles. May–December 2025 (post-tariff): −7% value, −15% volume to the US. SWA 2025 figures | The Whisky Wire | Drinks Digest

UK Export Data (FDF) — Use With Caution

FDF Q3 2024 Trade Snapshot: UK alcohol exports declined 36.4% in value to £2.8 billion, 28.5% in volume. Whisky Bulletin | The Whiskey Wash

⚠  This covers ALL UK alcohol exports in first 9 months of 2024, not Scotch specifically. FDF noted: "HMRC are currently reviewing the whisky export statistics due to potential errors in the reporting system." FDF Trade Snapshot Q3 2024

Diageo Production Pauses

Teaninich (Highland): Halted through June 2026. "In line with our normal inventory management processes."

Roseisle Maltings (Speyside): Malt production paused until at least June 2026. 35,000 tonnes capacity. "Managing capacity requirements in line with our levels of maturing inventory." The Spirits Business | The Drinks Business

Lebanon, KY (Bulleit): All production halted until June 2025.

Balcones (Waco, TX): Halted August 2025. 17 jobs cut. Through June 2026.

Cascade Hollow / George Dickel (Tullahoma, TN): Paused through June 2026.

Roe & Co (Dublin): Paused.

Context: Diageo profits fell almost 30% (June 2024–June 2025). CEO Debra Crew stepped down July 2025 after stock fell ~44% during her tenure. Beverage Daily

Glenglassaugh Extended Silent Period

January 2025: Brown-Forman confirmed Glenglassaugh moving to 'shared production model' with BenRiach. Production staff made redundant. Part of 12% global workforce reduction (~650 of 5,400 employees). Brown-Forman's 'rest of whiskey' portfolio plunged 22%. The Whiskey Wash | Whisky Magazine | The Spirits Business

Brown-Forman Cooperage Closure

Brown-Forman Cooperage (Louisville, KY) closing April 25, 2025. 210 employees. Founded 1945. Expected $70–80M annualized cost savings. Independent Stave Company subsequently laid off 100+ workers at Kentucky Cooperage. Brown-Forman press release, Jan 14, 2025 | Food Manufacturing

Jim Beam Production Halt

James B. Beam Distillery, Clermont, KY: Full pause January 1 – December 31, 2026. Operational since mid-1930s. First time since the 1930s. Jim Beam non-flavored whiskeys, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden each lost 3.9–4.5% volume in the prior year. Announced December 21, 2025.

NPR, January 1, 2026 | The Spirits Business, December 2025 | Whisky Advocate

40% of Scotch Distillers Struggling — Corrected

⚠  The '40%' figure widely circulated in press is incorrect. 40.8% was the rate of INCREASE in the distress count from Q3 to Q4 2025 (from 49 to 69). The correct figure is ONE IN FIVE (19% of total Scottish distilleries). Year-on-year increase: 17% vs. UK average of 6.7%.

Source: Begbies Traynor Group Red Flag Alert credit risk scoring system. Thomas McKay (Managing Partner, BTG Scotland): "Distilleries in Scotland are facing a perfect storm of lowering demand, rising production costs and increased tariffs in key markets." The Spirits Business, Feb 2026 | The Scotsman

Speyside Distillery Closure

Production quietly halted late 2024; keys handed over May 1, 2025. Reason: lease expiration and inability to expand on floodplain site — not primarily market-driven. CEO John Harvey McDonough announced at Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, May 2025. Inside the Cask, May 2025

⚠  This closure was lease-driven. Note timing coincidence vs. causation.

5. Tariff Timeline and Impact

April 2, 2025: Liberation Day tariffs announced — 10% UK, 20% EU, 24% Japan.

April 5, 2025: 10% UK tariff takes effect.

April 9, 2025: Most country-specific tariffs suspended; 10% baseline remains.

May 28, 2025: US Court of International Trade ruled tariffs illegal.

August 29, 2025: Court of Appeals upheld illegality ruling.

February 20, 2026: Supreme Court ruled 6-3 (Roberts writing) tariffs illegal under IEEPA. Trump immediately imposed new 10% 'Section 122' tariffs.

Tax Foundation — Tariff Tracker | SWA tariff impact | DISCUS

EU announced 50% tariff on American whiskey in March 2025 (suspended August 2025 for 6 months). Canada: spirits boycott; Brown-Forman reported 61% drop in organic sales to Canada. SWA estimates tariffs cost the sector £4 million per week.

Historical: EU 2018 tariff caused American whiskey exports to plunge 20% ($552M to $440M). After suspension, rebounded 60% to $699M by 2024. 2019 US tariff on single malt Scotch cost the industry over £600M in exports over 18 months.

DISCUS CEO Chris Swonger: "The reimposition of these tariffs at a 50% rate would gut this growth and do irreparable harm to distillers large and small." DISCUS Annual Economic Briefing, Feb 2025

6. The Second Whisky Loch Conversation

Historical First Whisky Loch — 1980s

Production slashed ~35% in 1981. 20+ distilleries permanently closed including: Banff, Brora, Coleburn, Convalmore, Dallas Dhu, Glen Albyn, Glen Esk, Glenlochy, Glen Mhor, Glenugie, Glenury Royal, Hillside, Linlithgow, Millburn, Moffat, North Port, Glen Flagler, Garnheath, Port Ellen. DCL (Diageo's predecessor) alone closed 11 distilleries. Loch persisted into early 2000s — in 2001, blended Scotch retailed at £6.67/bottle in Asda (20p for the producer after duty/VAT).

Ian Buxton — Whisky Advocate: 'What We Lost in the Whisky Loch' | Tom Bruce-Gardyne — scotchwhisky.com: 'Is a second whisky loch brewing?' | The Whiskey Wash: 'Whisky Loch 2025?'

VinePair Oversupply Article — Verified

Title: "No One Wants to Talk About the Oversupply of Scotch and Bourbon." Author: Susannah Skiver Barton. Published: April 29, 2025. vinepair.com/articles/global-whiskey-oversupply/

Bernstein research: even with 9% demand growth, industry would still face oversupply of 480,000 barrels by 2028 at 2022's supply levels (12.6M barrels). David Stirk: "The number of warehouses that have gone up in the last 10, 15 years is exponential... When you put those things together, it doesn't add up."

Key Industry Commentary

Bourcard Nesin (VP Research, Rabobank): "The problem with oversupply is almost universal in the bevalc industry. It's affecting Bourbon, American whiskey, Tequila, it's affecting wine." The Spirits Business, June 2025

Fred Minnick: "2025 is the year of a market correction... I absolutely love where American whiskey is right now, from a quality perspective. The business side of things will work itself out. But it's a helluva time to be a whiskey fan." fredminnick.com, January 2026

Mark Erwin (CEO, Lofted Spirits/Bardstown Bourbon Co.): "From economic uncertainty that has impacted financing, to oversupply from too many brands thinking their COVID sales would continue to straight-line, this part of the industry has been pressured." Robb Report

Steve Beal (industry veteran): "I don't see it as a bust. I see it as a realignment." The Spirits Business

The five largest listed alcohol producers — Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Campari, Brown-Forman, and Remy Cointreau — are sitting on $22 billion in aging spirits, highest in more than a decade. Remy Cointreau inventory value is nearly double its annual revenue. Financial Times

7. Statistics Requiring Caveats

8. Key Source Index

Primary Sources

• MGP Ingredients Investor Relations
• ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project (PDF)
• Kentucky Distillers' Association — Bourbon by the Numbers
• DISCUS Annual Economic Briefing
• Scotch Whisky Association — 2025 Export Figures
• Scotch Whisky Association — 2024 Export Figures
• Brown-Forman Newsroom — Restructuring Press Release
• IWSR — H1 2025 Beverage Alcohol Press Release
• TTB Production Data
• Gallup — Alcohol Consumption
• Epiq11 — Bankruptcy Case Files
• Tax Foundation — Tariff Tracker
• FDF Trade Snapshot Q3 2024

Strong Secondary Sources

The Spirits Business | VinePair — Whiskey Oversupply | Whisky Advocate | Robb Report — American Whiskey Production

Fred Minnick | WhiskyCast | The Whiskey Wash | Scotchwhisky.com | Inside the Cask | The Whisky Wire

Use With Caveats

Gadallon Substack (TTB-derived production data) | Bottle Raiders — MGP Lawsuit | ElevenFlo — Westward case study | Stock Titan — MGP Q3 2025

The Whiskey Lab  |  thewhiskeylab.com  |  Research Appendix  |  February 2026