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The Tennessean reports distillers and industry observers are predicting an upcoming whiskey shortage as the market has risen 10.2 percent in the past year. David Ozgo of the Distilled Spirits Council told The Tennessean there’s been an “explosion internationally” of exports for bourbon as countries like China, Australia and South Korea have opened their doors to whiskey imports.
Jeff Arnett, the master distiller at Jack Daniel, told the paper
the potential shortage doesn’t come as that much of a surprise.
“We’ve been seeing this coming,” Arnett said. “We have seen globally that scotch is losing its position as the go-to whiskey. The new generation appreciates American whiskey for its flavor and mixability. Jack Daniel has been fortunate that even before that shift, we have been able to grow. We’ve been slowly adding warehouses, as well as fermenting and distilling capacity.”
The recent introduction of flavored whiskeys, such as honey and cinnamon, among the younger crowd is also a factor in the change in the market.
But it may not be as easy as simply ramping up production.
“We could buy the biggest still in the world and the market isn’t going to see any impact for a while,” distiller Darek Bell said. “Every year we’ve been in business we’ve been in short supply; we never have been able to keep up with demand. The stuff we’re making this week was sold months ago, but it hasn’t even aged yet. Three years ago, we were already rationing our production.”
Jeff Arnett, the master distiller at Jack Daniel, told the paper
the potential shortage doesn’t come as that much of a surprise.“We’ve been seeing this coming,” Arnett said. “We have seen globally that scotch is losing its position as the go-to whiskey. The new generation appreciates American whiskey for its flavor and mixability. Jack Daniel has been fortunate that even before that shift, we have been able to grow. We’ve been slowly adding warehouses, as well as fermenting and distilling capacity.”
The recent introduction of flavored whiskeys, such as honey and cinnamon, among the younger crowd is also a factor in the change in the market.
But it may not be as easy
as simply ramping up production.“We could buy the biggest still in the world and the market isn’t going to see any impact for a while,” distiller Darek Bell said. “Every year we’ve been in business
we’ve been in short supply; we never have been able to keep up with demand. The stuff we’re making this week was sold months ago, but it hasn’t even aged yet. Three years ago, we were already rationing our production.”
