At the turn of the 21st century, there were just a few dozen active whiskey distilleries in the U.S. (For reference, there were around 75 distilleries total in 2006.) Today, there are thousands. In bourbon-soaked Kentucky alone, whiskey production climbed 566 percent between 2000 and 2023; relative growth in many other states was even greater, in large part due to the proliferation of craft producers. Despite a recent downturn in sales and consumption, compared to the 1990s, today’s America...
