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How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust

Tariffs, oversupply and teetotaling Gen-Zs have all contributed to the downfall of one of America's most iconic liquors.

Although the whiskey, which is traditionally made with corn and aged in charred oak barrels, has roots going all the way back to the 18th Century, it wasn't until 1964 that it became an iconic piece of Americana, when Congress passed a law declaring it a "distinctive product of the United States". "That's worse than a tariff, because it's literally taking your sales away, completely removing our products from the shelves ... that's a very disproportionate response," Lawson Whiting, the CEO of Brown-Forman, which produces Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester, said back in March when Canadian provinces announced their plan to stop buying US booze. In Canada, where bourbon imports have slowed to a trickle, local distilleries have started experimenting with bourbon-making methods to give Canadian whiskey a similar taste.

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