Bankruptcies hit US spirit makers as Americans drink and spend less

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Updated Dec. 25, 2025, 5:37 p.m. ET


You'll have to excuse distillers and spirits makers if they need a stiff drink this holiday season.

The past year has dealt makers of whiskey and other liquor a mix of challenges – from Americans cutting back on their alcohol consumption for health and spending reasons to declining exports hampered by trade issues and tariffs.

It's not just restaurants and retailers hit with bankruptcies in 2025. Several distilleries across the U.S. filed for bankruptcy this year with the most recent of them being A.M. Scott Distillery, which was founded in 2022 in Troy, Ohio. The distiller, which operates a location in Dayton, filed for Chapter 11 on Dec. 22.

Earlier this year, other bankruptcy filings included the Luca Mariano Distillery, in Danville, Kentucky, and its parent company, LMD Holdings, which filed in August; Devils River Distillery of San Antonio and JJ Pfister Distilling Co. of Sacramento, Calif. (both in May); House Spirits Distillery of Portland, Oregon (April); and Boston Harbor Distillery of Boston and Lee Spirits Co. of Monument, Colo. (both in March).

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2025/12/25/liquor-spirits-industry-bankruptcies/87914241007/

[Deminpenn]

1. The makers of Jim Beam recently closed a big plant in KY, too

nt

[samplegirl]

2. Awe to damn bad

They voted for him!

[rurallib]

3. Are Americans turning to other intoxicants or actually getting sober

Either way I can't feel sorry for the liquor industry one bit.

Having watched my parents drink themselves to death and having had a major problem myself it is hard to screw up any sympathy.

[mwooldri]

11. A mix of everything.

Exports of American liquor have shrank. People are drinking less. I don't know if the legal marijuana usage has directly correlated to decreased alcohol consumption... But it's possible.

[rurallib]

14. I have read that only 54% of Americans now say they drink alcohol

https://news.gallup.com/poll/693362/drinking-rate-new-low-alcohol-concerns-surge.aspx

I was curious if the THC infused drinks had displaced some of the alcohol. It looks like it has. Now I do not know if that is good or bad. Impaired anything is still impaired.

I found this bit from High Times interesting:
https://hightimes.com/business/move-over-booze-weed-drinks-pulled-1-1-billion-in-u-s-sales-in-2024/

From Fringe to Force

Not long ago, weed drinks sat dusty in dispensary coolers, competing with gummies and vapes for a sliver of shelf space. Today, they are reshaping how Americans unwind. Whitney’s report estimates the total U.S. market potential at $9.9 to $14.9 billion, roughly 10% of alcohol sales. For comparison, the U.S. energy drink sector is worth about $25 billion. Suddenly, the idea that cannabis drinks could rival Red Bull does not sound so far-fetched.

The shift was sparked by the 2018 Farm Bill, which decoupled hemp from marijuana and opened the door for hemp-derived THC beverages to flood mainstream channels. Then came the Minnesota effect, where lawmakers accidentally greenlit hemp THC seltzers in bars, liquor stores and restaurants. The state racked up over $200 million in drink sales almost overnight, and other states took notice.

So it looks like weed is replacing some booze sales

[Vinca]

4. Our local paper has been running a foreclosure auction notice for a small brewery.

I've also noticed foreclosure legal notices increasing of late for the overpriced properties people finance to the hilt and can't pay for. Trump's economy.

[wolfie001]

5. All those CEOs support and fund a pResident who's filled with hate 24/7/365 and.......

.....the pig doesn't drink a drop of alcohol. One of the biggest ironies of this Marmalade Shitshow.

[70sEraVet]

6. All of those photos we saw a few months ago, of Canadian liquor stores.....

clearing their shelves of US made liquor, and the GOP laughed about it. They're not laughing so loud, anymore.

[lonely bird]

7. I have a feeling that the craft beer and spirits trend

Is running its course. I would not be surprised if the dispensary business experienced the same thing in a few years.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "I would not be surprised if the dispensary business experienced the same thing in a few years."

I read recently that the dispensary biz has already undergone a "correction" and for some, a "contraction" -

America’s Cannabis Market Is Breaking Down. A Select Few Are Breaking Out

By Javier Hasse, Senior Contributor. Javier Hasse is a cannabis and psychedelics reporter and book author.

Oct 07, 2025, 01:54pm EDT Oct 07, 2025, 05:06pm EDT


The cannabis sector has endured a dramatic correction. After peaking at a combined valuation of roughly $37 billion in 2021, leading publicly traded cannabis companies (Curaleaf, Green Thumb, Tilray and Trulieve) are now worth less than $11 billion (as of October 7, 2025).

Oversupply, plunging wholesale prices (average U.S. retail cannabis prices have fallen 32% since 2021), heavy debt burdens, stalled federal reforms and punitive tax treatment under IRS code 280E have left many operators cash-strapped. In parallel, more than $3.8 billion in delinquent payments are weighing on the ecosystem, with invoices averaging about 1.6 months (~6–7 weeks) past due.

Complicating matters further, hemp regulations remain unsettled. More than 30 states have banned or restricted intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta-8 THC and Congress is considering closing the “hemp loophole” in the 2025 Farm Bill. These pressures have eroded margins and investor confidence across the industry. Yet, it is not all contraction. Select operators, both private and public, continue to expand nationally by focusing on capital discipline, measured growth and diversified strategies.

(snip)

[Attilatheblond]

10. Possibly why Trump was told to loosen restrictions on research and sale?

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Well the Hemp ban caught many by surprise

and that whole industry in KY is livid - particularly since the original proponent was Turtle and he stabbed them in the back by introducing the ban, and will retire after this coming year.

Legalizing has always been a "populist" and "libertarian" thing. But that runs counter to the so-called "religious right" and "evangelicals".

[Attilatheblond]

9. Will US 'businessmen' EVER acknowledge that it is workers/consumers who drive our economy

and not the rich people who take money out of circulation and put it into stock buy-backs and Cayman Island banks?

[mdbl]

13. FAFO Trump supporters in KY.

They voted for this crap.

[Raftergirl]

15. I just sent H to the liquor store. Needed a bottle of Kahlua and a bottle of vodka.We like Reyka, an Icelandic.

brand. I enjoy having a cocktail at home every once in a while and like a dash of kahlua in my after dinner decaf coffee.

He bought a few bottle of California wine, most which I use in cooking, but H does have occasional glass. Wine gives me headaches so I don’t drink it anymore.

I especially love a speciality cocktail when we go out to dinner.

[Aristus]

16. I buy all my distilled spirits either from producers overseas, or from right here in Washington State.

I drink whiskeys from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Japan. I won't buy red state swill (which sucks anyway, and is fit for consumption only by hillbillies and rednecks). Washington State produces excellent bourbon, and vodka that rates from dreadful to pretty good.

I still have the right as a consumer to choose the products I buy. These are the choices I'm making.

I thought about choosing not to drink.

After I stopped laughing, I thought: yeah, no...