Trade war with Canada has contributed to a significant decline in U.S. liquor sales
Jim Beam, one of the largest makers of American whiskey globally, is shutting down bourbon production at one of its Kentucky distilleries for a year.
The move comes amid Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, which has contributed to a significant decline in U.S. liquor sales after the country ushered in a boycott of American booze, and as more young adults are cutting back on drinking.
Jim Beam, owned by Suntory Global Spirits, is one of Kentucky’s biggest bourbon producers.
The Bluegrass state’s $9 billion whiskey bourbon industry has been struggling to manage its abundant supply of liquor against the drop in demand.
Are there still significant numbers of people that believe Trump understands the economy or are the minority morons just getting louder, with support from Russia? Were they always just 30-50% Russian as per the recent issue identified on r/conservative
Trump probably understands economy, I think he messes around with trade so that him and his buddies can do some inside trading while throwing everyone else under the bus
I believe that this is backwards. Trump is fully backed by the US billionaires. There is no opposition among them, which would have financed an impeachment.
This makes Trump’s Russian links secondary. I cannot imagine the billionaires to let a guy win who could betray them and their global influence.
Now the success of China demands drastic changes. The Russian links allow the media to shift blame constantly. It would be less convenient if people wouldn’t look for the origin of problems in Russia.
The tariff policy on China is necessary to shift production back to the US. The new leverage on other countries is an additional benefit. Like most things this won’t be Trump’s plan but attributing it to him prevents people from asking more questions. Project 2025 exists. It’s neither made by Trump nor Russia.
I love whiskey, but fuck Kentucky. It would take a lot for the morons there to figure out Trump and republicans in general are not helping them. They did elect a Democrat governor at least, so that’s a good sign.
not really, on the dem gov for a number of reasons. 2 of the worst senators are from there, Mitch mcconnel and rand paul.
the only reason the gop even did not resist a DEm campaign there is because the last Republican one screwed over the economy the state so much, they needed a dem to reign in the state, plus he is an easy scapegoat for the gop if things go wrong.
Danm, what a pain it will be to bring up that still in a year. Also have to take down and clean all their vats. Remind me not to buy any jim beam made in 2027.
At least maintenance will get free reign for once.
With any lucky they will sell and rebrand, beam is a dead brand.
I guess Kentucky is getting everything they voted for. I’m happy for them.
I used to like Beam. But japanese whiskeys are better and cheaper here in Asia anyway.
Beam is a japanese whiskey, no?
It was bought by a Japanese company in 2014 but it’s usually considered a very American whiskey.
I hardly ever drink anymore, but enjoyed the rare tumbler of Bourbon. After the trade-war shit I switched to Irish. One bottle of really good stuff will last me at least a year. Working my way through a Tullamore dew single malt of all things now (Tullamore Dew 13 Year Old Rouge Edition for those googling)
All I can taste in any liquor is the alcohol
Very happy that Canadians had a hand in helping this happen.
Edit removed to
I upvoted this twice.
I’m surprised there aren’t face indents in the tummy bulge
too full, so the leapord has to ask lions, hyenas, jackals, other small cat to eat faces. plus they have plenty of vultures to pick up the corpses.
they can drink thier sorrows away with the bourban.
So I know that Jim Beam is an entry level bourbon, and I know the story here is more about the tariffs and the relationship between the US and the rest of the world…
But genuine question: will 2027 Jim Beam be super good because it’s aged an extra year?
no but theyll box it and sell each at 500% markup a few years later like heaven hill did for that fire batch 😂
They won’t change a thing about the process or age it longer, they’re just cutting down production so their own storage doesn’t overflow since they can’t offload it as quickly.
Yeah, you’re probably right. I don’t even think Jim Beam has any information about age or years on it’s, um, plastic screwtop bottle.
Just to be safe though I’mma buy a few bottles in 2027.
You can buy fifths of Jim Beam in glass.
You can buy gallons of Jim Beam in plastic.
Jim Beam itself is a rather pedestrian bourbon, though useful as far as price to quality ratio. They make a lot more than just Jim Beam though. Booker’s, Basil Hayden, Knob Creek.
They make a bunch of different bourbons aged for different lengths. Skipping a year of production could let them turn more of whats already in the warehouse in to the more expensive versions.
Jim Beam with the white label won’t be any different.
I’m going to guess not super good, but better than 2026
I am all in on the Canadian Club.
Cue the “I didn’t vote for this” gomers…
“But I’d vote for him again”
Well they’ll gladly vote for whoever has the “R” next to their name, no matter what. That is if there ever are elections again.
Gomers?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomer_Pyle#Cultural_impact
The term “gomer” has entered the English lexicon, usually meaning “stupid person” or “fool,” especially if a coworker or trainee.
No mention of the annexation threats and “51st state” rhetoric coming from the Trump administration, which I suspect is a bigger driver of the boycott than economic disputes.
The two are very much related. We’re just in a special category with Denmark and perhaps Venezuela. But I recall him specifically saying we wouldn’t be able to survive the tariffs he was imposing. I will continue to do what I can to keep my money from going to America.
They never mention the real reason. They talk about tariffs but never that he literally threatened to annex us economically multiple times.
The funniest thing is that ‘all American’ Jim Beam is owned by Suntory, a Japanese company.
Even 7Eleven and Firestone are Japanese companies. Americans can’t run shit.
Way back in 1981, Ronald Reagan looked upon post-Vietnam America and saw too options. One was to tax the rich heavily, institute massive government controls on energy production, and push a renewal of America’s aging heavy industries. The other was to cut taxes for the upper classes and encourage wild speculation.
You say that like Reagan had some grand economic plan. He was an idiotic actor very similar to Trump. It’s true that tons of terrible policies can be traced back to his presidency but he wasn’t the mastermind of much of it in the same way that Trump doesn’t have a coherent plan now. They are both good examples of dumb, self serving outsiders being given too much power and listening to the wrong people.
Reagan didn’t have a policy, but his team sure did.
A lot of people got really rich in the 1980s and it wasn’t by chance.
Don’t mistake the fact that bad things happened for incompetence.
The destruction of the middle class wasn’t a bug, it was a feature.
Japan has a greater appreciation for American things like jazz and bourbon than Americans do
there’s a japanese jazz scene?
a vibrant one
They’ve got a pretty hoping rockabilly subculture too
I don’t know if it still does, but I know electronic jazz had a big scene there a few years back.
I occasionally travel with two people for work that love bourbon, but hate Jim Bean and call it garbage. Knowing now that it is owned by a Japanese company combined with their current understanding of blaming Biden for the current economy, really puts it together as to why they hate Jim Bean.
These are also the same people that ask me how it’s like living two hours from the war torn and destroyed area known as Portland.
Eh, Jim Beam is generally considered cheaper, kinda bottom-shelf stuff these days. Fine for a bourbon and coke, but not really intended to be sipped neat. I wouldn’t really be surprised by a bourbon-lover turning their nose up at it, regardless of who owns the brand.
They have some very premium brands as well, that definitely deserve praise: hardin’s creek, little book especially.
Anything labeled Jim beam is swill to meh (except Lineage, but you’ll never see that on a shelf). The old grandad (bonded or 114) line is bang/buck.
Jim beam was in the “cheap rotgut” category for ages. They only fairly recently started trying to make decent stuff again, regardless of ownership.
As to your colleagues… people can dislike mediocre whiskey and still be assholes.
It could just be they don’t like drinking shitty bourbon. Jim Beam is… not great.
These are also the same people that ask me how it’s like living two hours from the war torn and destroyed area known as Portland.
Propaganda is a helluva drug, that’s for sure.
Tell them it’s horrible and they should stay in Florida.
Jim Beam is 80 proof, while a lot of more expensive bourbon is more like 90 proof. Personally I prefer the lesser kick, and I live in the US, but do you think I’m going to be able to stock up on cheap Jim Beam? Hah, don’t bet on it.
They make Knob Creek, which is 100 proof
I have to water that stuff down. Fine once in awhile but basic Jim or Jack is mother’s milk, for a daily half-shot.
“Make it… Suntori time…”
Back in the 1970s Suntory Whiskey had a huge sign over Times Square in New York. The sign is visible in movies like Shaft. You couldn’t find Suntory in any American bar, but the company knew that Times Square was iconic and their sign would be seen all over the world.
Canada and the U.S. have since agreed to launch formal discussions to review their trade agreement
I don’t think that’s gonna make a difference anymore. Reverting the 2025 decisions will not revert things. The sentiment has changed among the common people.
plus canada can just choose other countries alcohol menu instead.
It’s abuser logic. “If I stop hitting you, we’re cool. There’s no problem, anymore. That is until I decide to hit you again.”
That doesn’t work on everyone and eventually someone will hit back harder or gang up and take them down. Unfortunately, people let them get away with it for too long.
That does seem to be the logic of even people on the left of American politics.
They seem to think that voting for democrats will change anything. Nah, they need to fix their damn stupid political system before anyone will trust them again. Except of course they won’t because of a 250-year-old document who’s authors would be amazed to find has become almost religious dogma.
Trying that shit on Canada of all people was the dumbest shit imaginable.
Ah, you’ve met the average MAGAt I see.
Yeah, but try explaining to an abusive narcissist that… they have to actually show a real dedication to changing themselves, and making things right.
You basically can’t, because the idea that they could be flawed or mistaken in a fundamental way… well, that’s basically incomprehensible to them, beyond being some kind of insult toward them.
Yup. It’s something that won’t be fixed for decades. Trump has seriously damaged the ability for the US to do international trade.
Yup. It’s something that won’t be fixed for decades. Trump has seriously damaged
the ability forthe USto do international trade.He went way beyond just trade affairs.
So far Canadians have been smart enough to hold the line. Don’t bend and don’t believe the liars in charge of the US. This administration would gladly invade anyone and subjugate them.
Never 51. Elbows Up, Canada. It’s time to line brawl on the ice.
not enough to not go to disney though.
Even if I thought like that, there are other Disney parks in other parts of the world where they don’t arrest you for trying to enter legally.
Canada has got this. They have shifted to trade with more stable countries and had ramped up local distilleries. They are not being mean but rather strategic.
Canadian products are generally superior quality anyways
That I can definitely agree with. US manufacturing is so crippled by capitalism that the results are squeezed into barely functional pieces of shit. Efficiency for the shareholders is king.
I’m always glad to see when someone like Canada has some pride in their products and not just making the shittiest thing that’ll still sell.
… also the price of things.
Corporations especially grocers just got a big chance to raise prices … even if the tariffs go away, none of them will bring the prices down again. They’ll just pocket the difference and let everyone pay the new high prices which will stay in place.
what they did during/after covid was shrinkflation/cheapflationed thier products. it was very noticeable in consumables like toileteries/laundry, toothpaste, etc.
Only a year? Let’s make it permanent Canada. Elbows up.
Not just Canada. I haven’t bought bourbon since last year here in the U.S… which was my go-to drink of choice.
I was a bourbon fan when I drank. Been 5 or 6 years though. Glad I don’t support that industry anymore. Fuck ‘em.
