How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust

Summary

How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bustRobin Levinson KingBBC NewsGetty ImagesBulleit Bourbon reported a more than 7% sales drop this fiscal yearAs American as apple pie, Kentucky bourbon was booming after the last Great Recession ended. But as the economy has waned post-Pandemic - and with multiple trade wars on the horizon - the market may be drying up.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". But drinking trends come and go, and by the end of the 20th Century, bourbon was considered a bit old fashioned - pun intended."You often see these kind of generational shifts where people don't want to drink what their parents drink," said Marten Lodewijks, the US president of IWSR, which collects alcoholic beverage data and provides industry analysis. Then, as the world recovered from the 2008 recession, drinkers seemed to rediscover this classic spirit, for a few different reasons. For starters, the price point was good, which made it attractive for bar managers to purchase and incorporate into cocktails and for younger drinkers to sample. Then, in 2013, a law was passed in Kentucky that made it easier for companies to purchase and resell vintage bottles, opening up a high-end collectible market. Add to that the rise in mid-century nostalgia fuelled by shows like Mad Men, and bourbon was due for a full-blown Renaissance.Sales of bourbon grew by 7% worldwide between 2011-2020, which is more than three times the growth of the decade prior, according to industry data company IWSR.Soon, some bourbon distillers were becoming quasi-celebrities, and people were starting to buy up bourbon bottles not to drink, but as an investment. "Everyone was going crazy over the bourbon market, and treating like a commodity, like a stoc...