Picked up on that, didya? Hired a proper professional that works with several distilleries.HooDat wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:50 amLeopold Bros. have been stepping up their marketing game recentlyRedFromMI wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 9:44 amGreat article!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
I have noticed a certain master distiller popping up on social media a lot recently....
Bourbon
Re: Bourbon
-
- Posts: 6237
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:01 pm
Re: Bourbon
The face of the industry!
Love it!
Love it!
Re: Bourbon
I can't pick up my phone without seeing you in your Carhartts!a fan wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 11:33 pmPicked up on that, didya? Hired a proper professional that works with several distilleries.HooDat wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:50 amLeopold Bros. have been stepping up their marketing game recentlyRedFromMI wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 9:44 amGreat article!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
I have noticed a certain master distiller popping up on social media a lot recently....
STILL somewhere back in the day....
...and waiting/hoping for a tinfoil hat emoji......
...and waiting/hoping for a tinfoil hat emoji......
Re: Bourbon
Yeesh....sorry about that!HooDat wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 11:23 amI can't pick up my phone without seeing you in your Carhartts!a fan wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 11:33 pmPicked up on that, didya? Hired a proper professional that works with several distilleries.HooDat wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:50 amLeopold Bros. have been stepping up their marketing game recentlyRedFromMI wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 9:44 amGreat article!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
I have noticed a certain master distiller popping up on social media a lot recently....
- youthathletics
- Posts: 14852
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:36 pm
Re: Bourbon
Love them. As my grandfather taught me..."Never be ashamed of you work clothes".a fan wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 1:30 pmYeesh....sorry about that!HooDat wrote: ↑Mon Apr 24, 2023 11:23 amI can't pick up my phone without seeing you in your Carhartts!a fan wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 11:33 pmPicked up on that, didya? Hired a proper professional that works with several distilleries.HooDat wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:50 amLeopold Bros. have been stepping up their marketing game recentlyRedFromMI wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 9:44 amGreat article!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
I have noticed a certain master distiller popping up on social media a lot recently....
BTW, I am in South Korea, just South of Seoul, the bourbon scene here is horrible...ripe for the picking.
A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.
~Livy
~Livy
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- Posts: 7443
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:07 am
Re: Bourbon
Serious inquiries only: pm
Last edited by runrussellrun on Wed Apr 26, 2023 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
ILM...Independent Lives Matter
Pronouns: "we" and "suck"
Pronouns: "we" and "suck"
Re: Bourbon
Check your pmrunrussellrun wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 3:43 pm Serious inquiries only: pm
A recent cache of adult beverages has been stumbled upon. Regarding the hard stuff, any laws regarding "resale".
Were talking Pikesville, that was actually made in Maryland, kind of stuff. (old) Cases and cases of Pappy Van, various types, etc. etc.
Need help.
Re: Bourbon
Congrats, a fan, pretty damn big deal!!!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
Re: Bourbon
Thank you Dmac. It's one I'm proud of because it's from 2,000 of my fellow American distillers. A real nice honor.DMac wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 9:11 amCongrats, a fan, pretty damn big deal!!!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
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- Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2018 11:58 pm
Re: Bourbon
Not sure how you pulled it off. I was always told beer then whiskey, very risky, whiskey then beer, never fear.a fan wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 1:00 amThank you Dmac. It's one I'm proud of because it's from 2,000 of my fellow American distillers. A real nice honor.DMac wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 9:11 amCongrats, a fan, pretty damn big deal!!!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
"I would never want to belong to a club that would have me as a member", Groucho Marx
- youthathletics
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Re: Bourbon
A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.
~Livy
~Livy
- youthathletics
- Posts: 14852
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:36 pm
Re: Bourbon
Just saw “Rebel” bourbon sponsoring PLL during Archers / Whipsnakes game in Minnesota.
A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.
~Livy
~Livy
- youthathletics
- Posts: 14852
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:36 pm
Re: Bourbon
Italian company acquires Sagamore Spirit, to move regional HQ to city
https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/n ... Hvir3mNfnk
The Italian multinational, known for its Disaronno liqueur, called the purchase a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to expand its American portfolio through Baltimore.
https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/n ... Hvir3mNfnk
The Italian multinational, known for its Disaronno liqueur, called the purchase a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to expand its American portfolio through Baltimore.
A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.
~Livy
~Livy
- ColumbiaBlueBlack
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- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:32 am
Re: Bourbon
Some of us remember a few years ago:a fan wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 1:00 amThank you Dmac. It's one I'm proud of because it's from 2,000 of my fellow American distillers. A real nice honor.DMac wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 9:11 amCongrats, a fan, pretty damn big deal!!!youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 7:00 am Congrats to Leopold Brothers: Starting on page 54:
https://issuu.com/artisanspiritmag/docs ... 042_web/54
- Attachments
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---------------------------
Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.
https://despair.com/products/compromise
Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.
https://despair.com/products/compromise
- ColumbiaBlueBlack
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:32 am
Re: Bourbon
And while I'm at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x93ZBxaKiac
---------------------------
Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.
https://despair.com/products/compromise
Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.
https://despair.com/products/compromise
- youthathletics
- Posts: 14852
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:36 pm
Re: Bourbon
Wonder if Afan has a pulse on this and its impact? https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/11/13/inve ... index.html
A fraudulent intent, however carefully concealed at the outset, will generally, in the end, betray itself.
~Livy
~Livy
Re: Bourbon
Yessir. It's a big, big deal for Big Bourbon. Enormous.youthathletics wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:07 pm Wonder if Afan has a pulse on this and its impact? https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/11/13/inve ... index.html
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- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:53 am
Re: Bourbon
Afan to Europe-f**k you guys I’m vacationing in Latin America going forward!
U.S. Whiskey Is ‘Collateral Damage’ in Trans-Atlantic Trade Fight
U.S. distillers stare down a 50% tax on shipments to Europe next year
In this case, tariffs erected to protect some U.S. industries swung back to hurt other homegrown small businesses. The bar fight over whiskey is just one example. EU tariffs retaliating against the U.S. also struck Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice and Levi’s jeans. Like whiskey, those products remain on the EU’s list of suspended tariffs.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
“We’re just collateral damage,” Glover said.
U.S. and EU officials say they hope to reach a deal to avoid the 50% tariff by year’s end, likely by delaying its effective date. But there is no end in sight to the broader trade dispute, leaving the threat of tariffs hanging over the whiskey industry.
“That there’s a significant chance the tariffs could come back is really enough to deter you from wanting to make investments in these foreign markets,” said Jeff Quint, chief executive of Cedar Ridge Distillery in Iowa. “Nobody’s going to make a significant investment in teaching the world about bourbon until we know these tariffs have been eliminated.”
American whiskey makers were drawn into the trade fight in 2018 after former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. He cited national security reasons, arguing that metals imports had eroded the country’s ability to make its own weapons, tanks, and aircraft. The EU responded with levies on a range of U.S. products, selected for their iconic status as U.S. exports and to apply pressure on politicians in Republican and swing states.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Until the U.S. has permanently removed the steel and aluminum tariffs, “the EU cannot permanently end its countermeasures,” Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesman, said last week. “The EU and U.S. remain engaged in ongoing discussions to reach an agreement on permanently removing these tariffs.”
The EU initially set the whiskey tariff at 25%. It was suspended two years ago as part of a mutual agreement to put both the U.S. metals tariffs and EU retaliatory tariffs on hold until 2024. Unless an agreement is reached before then, the whiskey tariffs could be reimposed—this time doubled to 50%. President Biden met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in late October, but that meeting wrapped up without an agreement.
The U.S. is now proposing a two-year extension of the current tariff reprieve, people familiar with the discussions said, which would keep both U.S. and EU tariffs on hold until the end of 2025. Both sides have said they want to avoid a replay of their earlier tariff fight.
“We will continue to work with the EU to find a solution that benefits our workers, stakeholders and businesses,” a spokesperson for the U.S. trade representative said.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Prolonged uncertainty is a particular problem for whiskey distillers because their product has to age, forcing them to plan years out.
“We need to make the amount of whiskey now that we think we’re going to sell in four to five years,” said Sonat Birnecker Hart, president of Koval Distillery, based in Chicago. “You’re eating a lot of costs up front.”
Smaller craft distilleries said selling in the EU often requires a major investment for them. They have to travel overseas to trade shows and build relationships with distributors and pay for promotions like free tastings to help introduce their product to a new audience overseas. And just getting their whiskey across the Atlantic is complicated.
Amir Peay, owner of the James E. Pepper Distilling Co. in Lexington, Ky., said he imports glass bottles in the 700 mL size that is standard in the EU, fills them, and sends them back to the EU on shipping containers.
Now, “every year, every quarter we ship less and less,” he said, given the questions over when the tariffs could resume. “I have to make sure I don’t get stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory in Europe that I can’t sell.”
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Peay said he has largely let his EU exports dry up since 2018. “Essentially the European business I built up has been destroyed,” he said.
Others said they chose to absorb the costs of the 25% tariff to keep their toehold in the EU market.
“If you lose your shelf space, getting back on is going to be a thousand times more difficult,” Birnecker Hart said.
As a whole, U.S. whiskey makers have largely recovered from the 20% decline in EU exports they suffered while the 25% tariff was in place, a drop to $440 million from $552 million, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Since January 2022, when the tariff was suspended, EU exports have climbed back above the pretariff level, according to the trade group.
A 50% tariff “would be an utter disaster for the American whiskey industry here in the U.S.,” Chris Swonger, president of the trade group, said. “It’s getting frustrating being embroiled with trade disputes that have nothing to do with our industry.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How can the U.S. safeguard local small businesses from the adverse effects of tariffs? Join the conversation below.
Write to Kristina Peterson at [email protected] and Kim Mackrael at [email protected]
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
U.S. Whiskey Is ‘Collateral Damage’ in Trans-Atlantic Trade Fight
U.S. distillers stare down a 50% tax on shipments to Europe next year
In this case, tariffs erected to protect some U.S. industries swung back to hurt other homegrown small businesses. The bar fight over whiskey is just one example. EU tariffs retaliating against the U.S. also struck Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice and Levi’s jeans. Like whiskey, those products remain on the EU’s list of suspended tariffs.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
“We’re just collateral damage,” Glover said.
U.S. and EU officials say they hope to reach a deal to avoid the 50% tariff by year’s end, likely by delaying its effective date. But there is no end in sight to the broader trade dispute, leaving the threat of tariffs hanging over the whiskey industry.
“That there’s a significant chance the tariffs could come back is really enough to deter you from wanting to make investments in these foreign markets,” said Jeff Quint, chief executive of Cedar Ridge Distillery in Iowa. “Nobody’s going to make a significant investment in teaching the world about bourbon until we know these tariffs have been eliminated.”
American whiskey makers were drawn into the trade fight in 2018 after former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. He cited national security reasons, arguing that metals imports had eroded the country’s ability to make its own weapons, tanks, and aircraft. The EU responded with levies on a range of U.S. products, selected for their iconic status as U.S. exports and to apply pressure on politicians in Republican and swing states.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Until the U.S. has permanently removed the steel and aluminum tariffs, “the EU cannot permanently end its countermeasures,” Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesman, said last week. “The EU and U.S. remain engaged in ongoing discussions to reach an agreement on permanently removing these tariffs.”
The EU initially set the whiskey tariff at 25%. It was suspended two years ago as part of a mutual agreement to put both the U.S. metals tariffs and EU retaliatory tariffs on hold until 2024. Unless an agreement is reached before then, the whiskey tariffs could be reimposed—this time doubled to 50%. President Biden met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in late October, but that meeting wrapped up without an agreement.
The U.S. is now proposing a two-year extension of the current tariff reprieve, people familiar with the discussions said, which would keep both U.S. and EU tariffs on hold until the end of 2025. Both sides have said they want to avoid a replay of their earlier tariff fight.
“We will continue to work with the EU to find a solution that benefits our workers, stakeholders and businesses,” a spokesperson for the U.S. trade representative said.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Prolonged uncertainty is a particular problem for whiskey distillers because their product has to age, forcing them to plan years out.
“We need to make the amount of whiskey now that we think we’re going to sell in four to five years,” said Sonat Birnecker Hart, president of Koval Distillery, based in Chicago. “You’re eating a lot of costs up front.”
Smaller craft distilleries said selling in the EU often requires a major investment for them. They have to travel overseas to trade shows and build relationships with distributors and pay for promotions like free tastings to help introduce their product to a new audience overseas. And just getting their whiskey across the Atlantic is complicated.
Amir Peay, owner of the James E. Pepper Distilling Co. in Lexington, Ky., said he imports glass bottles in the 700 mL size that is standard in the EU, fills them, and sends them back to the EU on shipping containers.
Now, “every year, every quarter we ship less and less,” he said, given the questions over when the tariffs could resume. “I have to make sure I don’t get stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory in Europe that I can’t sell.”
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Peay said he has largely let his EU exports dry up since 2018. “Essentially the European business I built up has been destroyed,” he said.
Others said they chose to absorb the costs of the 25% tariff to keep their toehold in the EU market.
“If you lose your shelf space, getting back on is going to be a thousand times more difficult,” Birnecker Hart said.
As a whole, U.S. whiskey makers have largely recovered from the 20% decline in EU exports they suffered while the 25% tariff was in place, a drop to $440 million from $552 million, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Since January 2022, when the tariff was suspended, EU exports have climbed back above the pretariff level, according to the trade group.
A 50% tariff “would be an utter disaster for the American whiskey industry here in the U.S.,” Chris Swonger, president of the trade group, said. “It’s getting frustrating being embroiled with trade disputes that have nothing to do with our industry.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How can the U.S. safeguard local small businesses from the adverse effects of tariffs? Join the conversation below.
Write to Kristina Peterson at [email protected] and Kim Mackrael at [email protected]
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Same sword they knight you they gon' good night you with
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide
Re: Bourbon
The problem is really on the big guys....hurts their long and short term production projections, and makes moving forward next to impossible.Farfromgeneva wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:04 pm Afan to Europe-f**k you guys I’m vacationing in Latin America going forward!
U.S. Whiskey Is ‘Collateral Damage’ in Trans-Atlantic Trade Fight
U.S. distillers stare down a 50% tax on shipments to Europe next year
In this case, tariffs erected to protect some U.S. industries swung back to hurt other homegrown small businesses. The bar fight over whiskey is just one example. EU tariffs retaliating against the U.S. also struck Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice and Levi’s jeans. Like whiskey, those products remain on the EU’s list of suspended tariffs.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
“We’re just collateral damage,” Glover said.
U.S. and EU officials say they hope to reach a deal to avoid the 50% tariff by year’s end, likely by delaying its effective date. But there is no end in sight to the broader trade dispute, leaving the threat of tariffs hanging over the whiskey industry.
“That there’s a significant chance the tariffs could come back is really enough to deter you from wanting to make investments in these foreign markets,” said Jeff Quint, chief executive of Cedar Ridge Distillery in Iowa. “Nobody’s going to make a significant investment in teaching the world about bourbon until we know these tariffs have been eliminated.”
American whiskey makers were drawn into the trade fight in 2018 after former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. He cited national security reasons, arguing that metals imports had eroded the country’s ability to make its own weapons, tanks, and aircraft. The EU responded with levies on a range of U.S. products, selected for their iconic status as U.S. exports and to apply pressure on politicians in Republican and swing states.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Until the U.S. has permanently removed the steel and aluminum tariffs, “the EU cannot permanently end its countermeasures,” Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesman, said last week. “The EU and U.S. remain engaged in ongoing discussions to reach an agreement on permanently removing these tariffs.”
The EU initially set the whiskey tariff at 25%. It was suspended two years ago as part of a mutual agreement to put both the U.S. metals tariffs and EU retaliatory tariffs on hold until 2024. Unless an agreement is reached before then, the whiskey tariffs could be reimposed—this time doubled to 50%. President Biden met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in late October, but that meeting wrapped up without an agreement.
The U.S. is now proposing a two-year extension of the current tariff reprieve, people familiar with the discussions said, which would keep both U.S. and EU tariffs on hold until the end of 2025. Both sides have said they want to avoid a replay of their earlier tariff fight.
“We will continue to work with the EU to find a solution that benefits our workers, stakeholders and businesses,” a spokesperson for the U.S. trade representative said.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Prolonged uncertainty is a particular problem for whiskey distillers because their product has to age, forcing them to plan years out.
“We need to make the amount of whiskey now that we think we’re going to sell in four to five years,” said Sonat Birnecker Hart, president of Koval Distillery, based in Chicago. “You’re eating a lot of costs up front.”
Smaller craft distilleries said selling in the EU often requires a major investment for them. They have to travel overseas to trade shows and build relationships with distributors and pay for promotions like free tastings to help introduce their product to a new audience overseas. And just getting their whiskey across the Atlantic is complicated.
Amir Peay, owner of the James E. Pepper Distilling Co. in Lexington, Ky., said he imports glass bottles in the 700 mL size that is standard in the EU, fills them, and sends them back to the EU on shipping containers.
Now, “every year, every quarter we ship less and less,” he said, given the questions over when the tariffs could resume. “I have to make sure I don’t get stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory in Europe that I can’t sell.”
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Peay said he has largely let his EU exports dry up since 2018. “Essentially the European business I built up has been destroyed,” he said.
Others said they chose to absorb the costs of the 25% tariff to keep their toehold in the EU market.
“If you lose your shelf space, getting back on is going to be a thousand times more difficult,” Birnecker Hart said.
As a whole, U.S. whiskey makers have largely recovered from the 20% decline in EU exports they suffered while the 25% tariff was in place, a drop to $440 million from $552 million, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Since January 2022, when the tariff was suspended, EU exports have climbed back above the pretariff level, according to the trade group.
A 50% tariff “would be an utter disaster for the American whiskey industry here in the U.S.,” Chris Swonger, president of the trade group, said. “It’s getting frustrating being embroiled with trade disputes that have nothing to do with our industry.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How can the U.S. safeguard local small businesses from the adverse effects of tariffs? Join the conversation below.
Write to Kristina Peterson at [email protected] and Kim Mackrael at [email protected]
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
-
- Posts: 22812
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:53 am
Re: Bourbon
Capex was already problematic with a doubling in the cost of capital. This just exacerbates it. Sounds like opportunity for you, good luck!a fan wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 1:23 pmThe problem is really on the big guys....hurts their long and short term production projections, and makes moving forward next to impossible.Farfromgeneva wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:04 pm Afan to Europe-f**k you guys I’m vacationing in Latin America going forward!
U.S. Whiskey Is ‘Collateral Damage’ in Trans-Atlantic Trade Fight
U.S. distillers stare down a 50% tax on shipments to Europe next year
In this case, tariffs erected to protect some U.S. industries swung back to hurt other homegrown small businesses. The bar fight over whiskey is just one example. EU tariffs retaliating against the U.S. also struck Harley-Davidson motorcycles, orange juice and Levi’s jeans. Like whiskey, those products remain on the EU’s list of suspended tariffs.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
“We’re just collateral damage,” Glover said.
U.S. and EU officials say they hope to reach a deal to avoid the 50% tariff by year’s end, likely by delaying its effective date. But there is no end in sight to the broader trade dispute, leaving the threat of tariffs hanging over the whiskey industry.
“That there’s a significant chance the tariffs could come back is really enough to deter you from wanting to make investments in these foreign markets,” said Jeff Quint, chief executive of Cedar Ridge Distillery in Iowa. “Nobody’s going to make a significant investment in teaching the world about bourbon until we know these tariffs have been eliminated.”
American whiskey makers were drawn into the trade fight in 2018 after former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. He cited national security reasons, arguing that metals imports had eroded the country’s ability to make its own weapons, tanks, and aircraft. The EU responded with levies on a range of U.S. products, selected for their iconic status as U.S. exports and to apply pressure on politicians in Republican and swing states.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Until the U.S. has permanently removed the steel and aluminum tariffs, “the EU cannot permanently end its countermeasures,” Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesman, said last week. “The EU and U.S. remain engaged in ongoing discussions to reach an agreement on permanently removing these tariffs.”
The EU initially set the whiskey tariff at 25%. It was suspended two years ago as part of a mutual agreement to put both the U.S. metals tariffs and EU retaliatory tariffs on hold until 2024. Unless an agreement is reached before then, the whiskey tariffs could be reimposed—this time doubled to 50%. President Biden met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in late October, but that meeting wrapped up without an agreement.
The U.S. is now proposing a two-year extension of the current tariff reprieve, people familiar with the discussions said, which would keep both U.S. and EU tariffs on hold until the end of 2025. Both sides have said they want to avoid a replay of their earlier tariff fight.
“We will continue to work with the EU to find a solution that benefits our workers, stakeholders and businesses,” a spokesperson for the U.S. trade representative said.
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Prolonged uncertainty is a particular problem for whiskey distillers because their product has to age, forcing them to plan years out.
“We need to make the amount of whiskey now that we think we’re going to sell in four to five years,” said Sonat Birnecker Hart, president of Koval Distillery, based in Chicago. “You’re eating a lot of costs up front.”
Smaller craft distilleries said selling in the EU often requires a major investment for them. They have to travel overseas to trade shows and build relationships with distributors and pay for promotions like free tastings to help introduce their product to a new audience overseas. And just getting their whiskey across the Atlantic is complicated.
Amir Peay, owner of the James E. Pepper Distilling Co. in Lexington, Ky., said he imports glass bottles in the 700 mL size that is standard in the EU, fills them, and sends them back to the EU on shipping containers.
Now, “every year, every quarter we ship less and less,” he said, given the questions over when the tariffs could resume. “I have to make sure I don’t get stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory in Europe that I can’t sell.”
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Peay said he has largely let his EU exports dry up since 2018. “Essentially the European business I built up has been destroyed,” he said.
Others said they chose to absorb the costs of the 25% tariff to keep their toehold in the EU market.
“If you lose your shelf space, getting back on is going to be a thousand times more difficult,” Birnecker Hart said.
As a whole, U.S. whiskey makers have largely recovered from the 20% decline in EU exports they suffered while the 25% tariff was in place, a drop to $440 million from $552 million, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Since January 2022, when the tariff was suspended, EU exports have climbed back above the pretariff level, according to the trade group.
A 50% tariff “would be an utter disaster for the American whiskey industry here in the U.S.,” Chris Swonger, president of the trade group, said. “It’s getting frustrating being embroiled with trade disputes that have nothing to do with our industry.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How can the U.S. safeguard local small businesses from the adverse effects of tariffs? Join the conversation below.
Write to Kristina Peterson at [email protected] and Kim Mackrael at [email protected]
Advertisement - Scroll to Continue
Same sword they knight you they gon' good night you with
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide
Thats' only half if they like you
That ain't even the half what they might do
Don't believe me, ask Michael
See Martin, Malcolm
See Jesus, Judas; Caesar, Brutus
See success is like suicide