When I helped found my craft distillery in Brooklyn in 2011, there were fewer than 100 distilleries in the entire country. In the years since, consumer interest in locally made spirits has boomed, with craft distilleries now numbering more than 2,000 nationwide. But the laws governing our industry have yet...
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Whiskey Rebels Part III: How ADI, ACSA, And DISCUS Elevated Craft Spirits
Part III of the Whiskey Rebels excerpt series focuses on advocacy and education. Craft visionaries like Westward’s Tom Mooney and ADI founder Bill Owens organized a collective of craft producers to make their voices heard in the halls of congress and teach each other the art of making fine spirits. Here...
Black-owned distilleries are breaking barriers that once surrounded the Kentucky bourbon industry
This story was featured in The Optimist newsletter. Sign up here to receive stories of kindness, resilience and the best among us every Wednesday and Sunday. LOUISVILLE — Growing up in the predominantly Black West End of Louisville, Victor Yarbrough knew bourbon was a dominant force in Kentucky and that...
20 Minutes With: Becky Harris, American Craft Spirits Association President
Becky Harris, the head distiller of Purcellville, Virginia’s Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, was elected president of the board of directors for the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) in May. Diving into a leadership position amid a pandemic andand a social justice awakening, wasn’t quite what she envisioned. “It’s not...
10,000 Craft Spirits Workers Face Loss of Jobs in Tax Relief Isn’t Extended
Nearly 10,000 craft distiller employees will lose their jobs if the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) isn’t passed. Failure to renew the lower tax rates included in the measue will also result in a 40% reduction in U.S. craft spirits production. That’s according to the American Craft...
Tax cut extension ‘imperative’ for US craft distillers
The monumental passing of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act in 2017 marked the first time the US government reduced taxes for spirits producers of all sizes since the Civil War. The act, which was announced as part of president Donald Trump’s US$1.4 trillion tax reform bill,...
Can Craft Whiskey Survive The Pandemic?
Ten years ago, as craft distillers pursued their dreams, the market saw new American whiskey styles. Young and inspired distillers were smoking grains, distilling unique malts and conducting barrel finishes unheard of on this side of the pond. Consumers reaction ranged from “gross” and “meh” to “brilliant” and “wow.”...
Hope outlasts fire at Du Nord Craft Spirits
The sting of stun grenades and tear gas is still fresh for Chris Montana, owner of Du Nord Craft Spirits, one of the few Black-owned microdistilleries in the United States. He spent the better part of May 27 — two days after the killing of George Floyd — handing out water and...
A Black-Owned Distillery Was Set On Fire In Minneapolis. Here’s How The Owner Responded.
Chris Montana, owner of the first Black-owned microdistillery in the U.S., shares his hopes for the future. This story, as told to Garin Pirnia, is from the perspective of Chris Montana, co-owner of South Minneapolis’ Du Nord Craft Spirits. When Montana opened the distillery in 2013, in the neighborhood where he...
ACSA Launches GoFundMe Campaign to Support Du Nord Craft Spirits, Badly Damaged During Minneapolis Unrest
To Our Alcohol Beverage Community and Supporters of Craft Spirits —In the early morning hours of Friday, May 29, Du Nord Craft Spirits, the Minneapolis distillery owned by the American Craft Spirits Association’s immediate Past President Chris Montana, was severely damaged amidst all of the devastation in the city....
New Hand Sanitizers Packaged in Beverage Bottles Could Pose Health Risks
During the coronavirus pandemic, calls to poison control centers related to sanitizer have risen Among the products Americans are having a hard time purchasing during the coronavirus pandemic, hand sanitizer tops the list: Seventy-four percent of people say they have been unable to track it down, according to a new nationally...
Craft Distillers Struggle to Survive Amid COVID-19
COVID-19 has battered the entire whisky industry but perhaps no one is struggling quite like the thousands of craft distillers in the U.S. The pandemic has shuttered tasting rooms and disrupted distribution, cutting off crucial revenue streams, prompting staff cuts, and potentially putting some on the brink of permanent closure. While...
6 Ways to Support Small Distilleries, Wineries, and Breweries
The global pandemic is having a significant local impact throughout the drinks space. While sales of wine, beer, and spirits are strong at retail, that doesn’t necessarily translate to craft producers, and it doesn’t make up for the loss of the entire on-premise channel. With most of the country’s...
Craft Distillers Were Booming. Now They Face Bust.
In recent years, sales for small liquor makers have been surging, but coronavirus has shuttered tasting rooms and disrupted distribution. For Todd Thrasher, it seemed like a sure bet. In October 2018, he opened a sprawling bar and rum distillery along the newly revitalized District Wharf in Washington, D.C.,...
Distillers, Relieved Over Extension Of Federal Tax Reductions, Promise To Fight To Make Them Permanent
Congress gave distillers a reprieve Thursday by voting to extend critical tax breaks to the spirits industry for one year. By passing one of two remaining spending packages by a vote of 71-23, senators affirmed a vote their House colleagues took Tuesday to let the Craft Beverage Modernization and...
