Many industries have felt the effects of the second Trump administration’s ongoing tariff war, and American whiskey is no exception. Last year, global American whiskey exports plummeted by 19 percent, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). That drop was largely a result of the industry having front-loaded exports to European Union markets in 2024 in anticipation of retaliatory tariffs and of Canada’s province-wide boycott of American liquor.
Despite the dips in certain regions, American whiskey was the country’s most exported spirit with major growth in new markets like Brazil and Australia. DISCUS recorded just a one-percent drop in the category’s overall volume sales worldwide. From this data, The Spirits Business ranked the best-selling American whiskey brands by nine-liter case sales in its annual Brand Champions Report.
