Craft Spirits Sales Fall for Third Straight Year as Distillery Closures Outpace Openings

U.S. craft spirits sales fell for the third year in a row, according to the 2026 Craft Spirits Data Project from the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and Park Street. ACSA President Tom Bard (Co-Founder, The Bard Distillery) and ACSA CEO Emily Pennington presented the findings at the Annual Craft Spirits Economic Briefing.

In 2025, craft spirits sold 11.7 million 9-liter cases, down from 12.7 million in 2024, and generated $7.3 billion in sales. That is an 8% drop in volume and a 3.7% drop in value. As of August 2026, there were 2,131 active craft distillers, down 6.6%. This is the first time closures have outpaced openings.

Measure	2024	2025	Change
Volume (9L cases)	12.7 million	11.7 million	−8.0%
Sales value	—	$7.3 billion	−3.7%
Share of U.S. spirits, volume	4.5%	4.2%	−0.3 pts
Share of U.S. spirits, value	7.5%	7.3%	−0.2 pts
Active craft distillers (Aug)	2,282	2,131	−6.6%
Full-time jobs	28,628	21,285	−25.6%
Exports (9L cases)	—	123,000	−13.4%
Total investment	$811 million	$526 million	−35%

Why it matters:

Tasting rooms are now the backbone of craft distilling. Sales at the distillery grew from 14% of craft sales in 2015 to 26% in 2025. Meanwhile, out-of-state sales fell from 54% in 2020 to 51% as distributors cut their portfolios, tariffs shrank export markets, and most states still don’t allow distillers to ship directly to consumers. Average investment per producer fell from $288,900 to $239,800.