There’s Never Been a Better Time to Invest in Rare Bourbon

Tariffs and overproduction have created a big opportunity in American whiskey. Here’s what to invest in now.Author of the article:You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.(Bloomberg) — After a 20-year boom in bourbon and other American whiskeys, supply now outpaces demand. Two decades of continuous expansion saw distilleries filling barrels and building sprawling complexes of rickhouses, where those barrels aged for years, some even for decades. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Then in a pandemic-era peak, they doubled down when stuck-at-home consumers started splurging. According to US Treasury data, in 2019 American whiskey distillers produced 218 million proof gallons (meaning each gallon is 50% alcohol, or 100 proof), peaking in 2023 at 299 million gallons before falling to 286 million gallons in 2024.Much of the whiskey from those years is finally coming to market — like straight bourbons, required to be aged at least two years, and bottled-in-bond bourbons, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse — which has turned out to be remarkably poor timing.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.The alcohol industry is facing headwinds across all spirits categories. While some drinkers have traded up to more premium booze, overall consumption is down. In the US, export sales have declined broadly, dropping 3.8% from a year earlier to $2.37 million in 2025, driven by a combination of health concerns, the trending “sober curious” movement, legal cannabis alternatives, and the rise of GLP-1 medications, which curb the urge to drink alcohol. This has been even more acute for American whiskey.According to a March 30 report from the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, exports of American whiskey dropped 19% to $1.08 billion in 2025. Notably, European Union sales plunged by 35% and Canada by 57%, given a boycott of American products cut off the biggest export market for American whiskey. Meanwhile, tariffs and retaliation against President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war — which imposed a 10% tariff on the UK and 15% tariff on the EU — have put American whiskey in a particularly precarious position, crimping exports and making expansion into new overseas markets difficult.Distilleries have responded by pulling back on production.The US Treasury’s most recent data available, from January through October 2025, shows American whiskey distilleries produced 177 million gallons, a 28% decrease from the same period in 2024. Lower even than 2019, Hasan Bakir, senior director of economic studies for the Discus, points out over email.“The recent production decline suggests distillers are taking a more measured approach, adjusting output to better align with inventory levels and current market conditions in the US and abroad,” Bakir said.In December, bourbon giant Jim Beam, owned by Japanese drinks conglomerate Suntory Holdings Ltd., announced a one-year pause in production at its flagship facility, just months after contract giant MGP Ingredients Inc. (which produces for George Remus, Bulleit Rye, Smooth Ambler, Yellowstone Bourbon and more) said it would ratchet down the amount of whiskey it makes. On April 7, MGP also said it would idle production altogether at two of its facilities for at least a year. Diageo Plc did the same last September,halting production at Balcones in Texas and Cascade Hollow, which makes George Dickel, a Tennessee whiskey.The good news?It’s a fine time to buy American whiskey — if you pick the right bottles to collect. From bourbon to rare American single malts to Tennessee whiskeys and rye, bargains abound, especially for forward-thinking folks who might want to put aside a bottle for a future special occasion, or have the room, budget and/or foresight to build a whiskey library.Look back to the “whisky loch” crisis of the 1980s, when Scotch whisky saw lakes of oversupply, leading to rampant distillery closures. Today, Scotch aficionados seek out bottles from those long-closed “ghost distilleries.” If you’ve ever wished for a time machine to go back and scoop up original Port Ellen or Brora single malts, today may be the closest you’ll get to finding an American equivalent.“There’s a correction factor going on,” says Mahesh Patel, an Atlanta-based real estate developer and founder of the Universal Whisky Experience, which holds events in Las Vegas, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore dedicated to celebrating rare spirits. With global competition for bottles pulling back, and domestic interest waning, “there’s so much inventory. It’s a good time to buy.”What to look forPotential whiskey collectors should focus on three aspects, says Tommy Tardie, proprietor of the Flatiron Room, a renowned whiskey bar with two spaces in New York City and a third to open in Miami this August: age statement; experimental bottlings like collaborations or special cask-finished whiskeys; and any “firsts” in a series.“You’re still rolling the dice, but if a series hits, the firsts are always very, very valuable.” For example, he points to the Unabridged series from Texas distillery Milam & Greene, which in November released its fourth “volume” in the set.Building a “vertical” — a lineup of annual releases from the same producer — can be particularly fruitful down the road, says Adam Polonski, co-founder and Whiskey Cask Hunter for independent bottler Lost Lantern.“Look to the new wave of distilleries all across the country, and focus on building verticals, even if that means doing a little hunting for older releases,” he says. “Annual limited-editions are the best options here.” His recommendations include Westland’s Garryana single malt, whose 10th edition was just released, Stranahan’s Snowflake, and High West Midwinter Nights Dram, an annual drop of rye whiskeys finished in port barrels (and a personal favorite of mine too).While it’s tempting to go for the biggest names, Polonski finds value in lesser-known producers: “As whiskey connoisseurs seek out new opportunities and new flavors, sets like these will start to command serious attention down the road — especially because few people will have them.”A final piece of advice: Opt for a whiskey that you personally enjoy.“The failsafe is, if it’s not going in the direction you want, you can always crack it and drink it,” Tardie says. “It’s not like a stock that’s going to go to junk. You can take comfort in knowing that it won’t go to waste. You’ll have a whiskey you can consume with friends.”Don’t sleep on auctions — or barrelsZev Glesta, a spirits specialist with auction house Sotheby’s in New York, notes an “increased supply of bottles hitting the marketplace.” Some of this is due to older collectors selling off their stakes, much like massive wine sales have made it prime time to drink aged wine. But relatively new brands with buzz are also being dropped, such as Rare Character’s single barrel of Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s collaborations, Glesta says. “Savvy buyers have more room to maneuver, and charity auctions are performing well and really bringing out some huge results.”For those who have the resources to purchase barrels, prices (and competition) have deflated for brands that might have been out of reach in years past. “I was paying maybe double for bourbon three years ago,” says Blake Riber, owner of Washington, DC-based retailer Seelbach’s, who frequently works with distilleries to source barrel picks for the store and others.“The current market is a drinker’s paradise,” particularly the accessibility of well-aged, affordable bourbon, down to the bottle level. He also points to the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection as an exceptional lineup with “deflated values.”For example, he points to the George T. Stagg 15-year-old, which in 2023 or 2024 might have sold on the secondary market in the $1,500–$1,600 range, but now sells for around $700–$800, Riber estimates. “It’s still a good bit over its [$150] retail price,” he notes. “It’s still a superhigh-quality, sought-after rare bottle that will continue to go up in value from a collector’s or investor’s standpoint,” but it can be had at a steep discount compared with a couple of years ago.A sign that bourbon will bounce back: E&J Gallo Winery’s $775 million acquisition of the well-respected Four Roses Distillery from Japan’s Kirin Holdings, finalized on April 2. Just as eagle-eyed collectors might snap up Four Roses’ Small Batch bottlings right now (one of Patel’s suggestions), this is a similar value play on a much larger scale.Indeed, the move has industry insiders noting that for those whiskey collectors playing the long game, it’s a buyer’s market right now. “As a whole, people are still drinking,” says Riber, and specifically seeking out new and better bottles. In addition to “blue chips” like Pappy Van Winkle, he sees opportunities in “up-and-coming” brands like Rare Character’s Brook Hill line.Blue-chip American whiskey cheat sheetMuch whiskey-nerd energy goes toward finding and acquiring rare “unicorns,” your Pappy Van Winkles and Willetts. Many of these are immediately flipped for multiples of the suggested retail price. Although with more bottles on shelves, hunting around now can pay off. Here are seven plays recommended by the experts to buy now and set aside if you see a price that seems right.Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing SeriesFor these expressions, the iconic Kentucky bourbon maker uses custom wood staves to do a second maturation of the whiskey, coaxing different flavors from each new batch. The first iteration of the Wood Finishing series ran from 2019–2023 and emphasized the production process that impacts the flavor of the whiskey (and was identified by batch codes and numbers, rather than names). Starting in 2024, the focus shifted to the teams behind the brand; the 2025 “Keeper’s Release” pays homage to the warehouse team, while the 2026 “Steward’s Release,” announced in March, honors the distillery’s operations team.Very Olde St. NickIt’s surprising that this IYKYK name flies under the radar as much as it does. This line of bourbons and ryes originated in the 1980s as an export for the Japanese market; initially it was bottled by Julian Van Winkle (yes, that Van Winkle) and later by the Willett family. Today it’s under the umbrella of Preservation Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. A deliberately curated waft of mystery surrounds the source and age of the distillate in these very limited batches — is that a trace of Stizel-Weller-era Pappy in there?St.

George Single Malt Whiskey Lot SeriesThis Bay Area OG craft distillery makes lots of great spirits beyond whiskey, but this limited-edition annual release, a tradition since 2000, is “a crowd favorite for people who are in the know,” Tardie says. The 25th anniversary edition (Lot 25) built by master distiller Lance Winters incorporates 28 different casks — the oldest clocking in at 13 years — as well as a bit of Lot #1, the first whiskey in the series, which was laid down in 1997.Old Forester Birthday Bourbon“Forester’s Birthday Bourbon is very hot right now,” says Patel. Since 2002 this annual bottling has been released on Sept. 2 to honor distillery founder George Garvin Brown’s birthday, and it’s made with liquid from a single day’s production. Start planning now to enter the 2026 lottery to score a bottle.Westland Garryana American Single MaltThe Seattle-based single malts are even rarer after a large shipment of Westland whiskeys, including 3,000 bottles of the 10-year-old Garryana, was stolen from its warehouse last year. Still, Polonski notes the 10th-edition single malt was released to rave reviews in October. “With a little work, it would still be doable to put together a complete set of the first 10 editions of Garryana — 10 years from now, you might be very pleased to have a complete set.”Wild Turkey Master’s KeepWhether bourbon or rye, “Wild Turkey remains a perennial powerhouse with loyal followers, especially with some of the newest releases,” says Sotheby’s Glesta. In September, Wild Turkey announced that Master’s Keep Beacon would be the 10th and final release in the celebrated series from father-and-son duo Eddie and Bruce Russell — making the blend of 16- and 10-year-old bourbons an instant collectible.Buffalo Trace Antique CollectionWhat started in 2000 as a trio of long-aged spirits has since expanded to six bottlings; whether you snap up the full set or individual bottles, BTAC is described as a “blue chip” (Riber) and “a safe bet” (Tardie). Glesta says Sotheby’s sees demand for the early editions in particular. The 25th edition of the series includes an Eagle Rare 17-year-old bourbon; a Sazerac 18-year-old rye; and a new addition to the series, a 15-year-old E.H. Taylor bottled-in-bond bourbon. The latest drop –a 30-year-old Eagle Rare, part of the brand-new 26th edition released April 15 – is already drawing attention too.Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.