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.”...
Relevant Articles
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...
Distilling The Success Of Craft Distilleries
All this month, we’ve been marking the hundred-year anniversary by re-airing some of our most thought-provoking shows on drinking, sobriety, and everything in-between. For more than a decade, alcohol was illegal in the United States – a so-called “noble experiment” that collapsed under the weight of organized crime and...
The American Craft Spirits Association Officially Launches Digital Media Properties
The American Craft Spirits Association Officially Launches Digital Media Properties: Craft Spirits Magazine and CraftSpiritsMag.com August 21, 2019 (WASHINGTON, D.C) — The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) is pleased to introduce its new digital, bi-monthly publication, Craft Spirits Magazine and its daily-news companion website, CraftSpiritsMag.com. Both the digital magazine and...
Craft Distillers Come To Capitol Hill To Push Modernization Act
This week more than 150 craft distillers from across the country gathered in Washington D.C. for a public policy conference with far-reaching implications for the industry. At stake is the two-year Federal Excise Tax (FET) cut, set to expire at year’s end. As part of the confab, the producers...
Industry Groups Speak Out Against New Proposed Tariffs On Imported Wine And Spirits, As U.S. Takes Aim At E.U., Mexico
Just days ago the U.S. reached new trade agreements with Canada and Mexico that were expected to ratchet down tariff tensions. But now, new proposals to impose tariffs on wine and spirits from the E.U.—and last night’s announcement that the U.S. will impose levies on all products from Mexico—have roiled the...
What Do Producers Stand to Lose If the CBMA Isn’t Made Permanent?
If the tax break is allowed to expire this year, it could create a domino effect for producers—and the rest of the industry Illustration by Jeff Quinn. If the tax breaks that the U.S. alcohol industry has gotten used to over the past year expire at the end of...
Navigating Craft Distilling Trade Association Memberships
Distillers weigh in on the benefits of joining the various industry organizations A craft whiskey distillery based in Portland, Oregon, recently received the largest purchase order in its 14-year history—not from someone in its local or regional market but from the other side of the world, in Australia. It...
