I think restaurant prices have went up quite a bit from what little i have paid attention.
My only alcohol consumption is mixing with gatorade or orange juice to nix coughing from colds or allergies so it may be a few nights a year or every other year and I am still on a liter of some brand of grain alcohol purchased several years back.
People are drinking less I believe and Jim Beam is shutting down production in 2026 @ there main distillery till things settle down or pick back up,whichever way ya want to say it! To bad for the workers but I always thought reg JB sucked,LOL Bourbon maker Jim Beam stops production at Kentucky site for 2026 | Food & drink industry | The Guardian
Lots of small whiskey distillers in TN popping up. Cutting into the big boys profits.
I read though this I can see why there has been a drop on alcohol drinking. Most of it’s been covered to dang expensive at bars. Heck, I’ve got a bottle of bourbon that is now worth over $350.00 setting in my cabinet. It’s over 20 years old if not 25 years. I’ve not drank much in over 6 months, last time was probably in June or before. Then again I had some medical issues for several months this getting old isn’t for the timid. I might need to have a shot now.
The weed choice is likely another thing for many now, in Nov. a Army buddy and I took a trip out to the Tulsa gun show and then to N.M. and back to TN. Oklahoma and N.M. it seemed like a constant cloud of MJ smoke everywhere. I took me days to get my sinuses cleared up from it, being one of the few things I have allergies to is that crap.
Within 2 hours driving distance of me:
Total flop of a new distillery.
Old distillery shutting down for a year.
New distillery opening with public assistance.
Distillery bankruptcies
https://www.thestreet.com/retail/another-whiskey-brand-files-for-chapter-7-bankruptcy
Mind you in that article they are saying a 2.8% drop.
I’m not sure but that doesn’t seem to work out with everything we are seeing. I’m guessing around Jan/Feb we will get some real numbers.
It’s difficult for me to undertsnad how 2.8% could mean all of these Guys listed are closing down.
Not sure what this part means:
“U.S. spirits industry experienced a 2.8% sales and 3.2% volume decline in the first half of the year.”
Googling “3.2% volume decline” got the AI review
“Spirits Industry: The U.S. spirits industry experienced a 3.2% drop in volume in a recent period due to financial distress. Separately, control state spirits sales saw a 3.2% decline in 9-liter volume in another report.
Total Milk Volume: In late 2023, total milk volume in the U.S. was down 3.2%, despite a 1.6% increase in dollar sales, which indicated that higher prices were masking the volume drop”.
The Guitar Industry is going through some very similar times.
Intresting, Guitars and Booze….
And here’s the video
Looked at some booze overseas recently, and it’s about the same price as like 2 decades ago. Surprisingly…..Should be higher from inflation.
Someone said something about resturaunt prices; yeah they’re frickin insane.
I did notice that the news and normal folk are talking about Dry January. Good.
I don’t drink anymore, I’ve been dry for over a year now, but when I did drink, I drank.
Here’s some things about the Cocktail and Dining Industry has seemed to have forgotten in the United States, you need us a lot more than we need you.,
I don’t have to Eat or Drink here, what do you have to make me willing to spend my time and money?
I really don’t care about the new rules about tipping, I will tip what I please. You work more than one table, probobly three, maybe four tables at a time and make $5.00 an hour. So the Math says if we all tip you 15-17 bucks your making between 50 and 70 dollars an hour.
Insane prices and a questionable clientele and snotty waitresses. Nah, I will stray at home.
I regularly see Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels less expensive in the Philippines than here.
Jonny Walker tends to be cheaper basically everywhere. Haven’t really given much thought to the price of Jack.
The booze I looked at the other day was Vodka. Stoli was cheap, Grey Goose was actually really expensive, probably more than in the States…$78/L. But Stoli is like $25 a liter, which I think is pretty cheap. Nobody here seems to do 750mL bottles for some reason, so it’s hard to compare.
Congrats on sobriety. That’s pretty huge.
Well they have huge Warehouse Stores like Costco now. I couldn’t believe the prices.
I was kind of concerned when I went over there the first time, all the Expats stay hammered because Booze is so cheap that it’s actually kind of dangerous.
Stoli used to be my drink, but Vodka is pretty much Vodka. I was drinking two cases of beer and a handle and a half of Vodka a week when I quit cold turkey.
No Sam’s Choice beer has always surprised me.
I’m old enough to remember Generic Beer.
BEER on a White can with nothing else.
I am so boring that on my days off I might have a beer, and later a single Glencairn glass of scotch with a bit of cool water. At home.
So if everyone is starting to do that I could see cheap shitty booze made for winos having zero demand, and bars having zero customers.
More in the works.
I’ve never been a heavy drinker but after COVID my imbibing has been at a very low level. Maybe a drink or two every couple of weeks. $0.02
I used to drink a handle and a half of Vodka and a case and a half of beer a week.
Sat it down and walked away almost a year and a half ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYvaWG620GU
An update;
Wine revenue dropped over a Billion Dollars. Jim Beam is not making any new Whiskey in 2026. Lowest alcohol copnsumption since the “Dry” 1930’s. Over a Billion and a half lost in alcohol stocks.