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Americans are drinking less whiskey — is it because they prefer marijuana?
(Lynchburg, TN) – Demand is down for whiskey. And it’s got spirit makers and distillers all over the country scrambling. Is it their product? Are other sources of inebriation winning hearts and minds? Whatever the reason, companies selling booze — such as the Brown-Forman group, owner of Jack Daniels — are trying to figure it out.
Few brands are as uniquely American as Jack Daniels. The name immediately evokes a sense of the frontier — hard swigging, fist throwing, tough-nosed Tennesseans who like their whiskey neat. It’s also one that makes you think of partying — perhaps paired with an icy cola. But Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting says there’s an unholy trinity he and other executives come back to when studying diminishing sales: lagging demand from Generation Z, an increasing number of people who opt for cannabis, and the impact brought on by weight-loss drugs.
In an earnings call with analysts, Whiting blamed the “same big three” when discussing lower demand for hard liquor. “We’ve been saying that for 1.5 years now. And I know on the sell-side that the world seems to be a little bit split on the extent of the pressure that it’s putting on our category. We’d be naive if we didn’t say that there isn’t some pressure coming from those,” Whiting explained.
The state of the economy also has an impact on consumer spending. Whiting contends that as inflation has spiked, and costs have risen, people are prioritizing things like vacation — as opposed to opting for a nice bottle of whiskey ahead of a weekend gathering. Whiting argues that Jack Daniels as a brand has not suffered from changing habits among drinkers. For example, whiskey maintains its same market share when compared to beer or wine. He also doesn’t think consumers are choosing cheaper whiskey brands and leaving Jack Daniels on the shelf. “I think the consumers – they haven’t traded down necessarily,” he observed in that same earnings call.
It’s likely the uncertain nature of the economy in terms of things like inflation and possibly tariffs will continue to impact sales of liquor. Brown-Forman CFO Leanne Cunningham predicted as much through 2026, saying “(we) believe that through all of that continued kind of uncertainty that the consumer is going to remain at that sustained level that it is now.”
Business experts continue to study how weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy will impact the business of food and drink. The legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes is another new reality. And apparently booze is going through it’s own adjustment period with regards to both of those changes.
