If you enjoy alcohol, eventually you will want to see where the alcohol is made. All spirits makers have tasting facilities and tours. If you are visiting the area, going to a distillery is a pleasant experience. If you are in the Louisville area, the Jack Daniels Whiskey plant is worth touring, along with the many other distilleries. It is easy to spend time in the area. When you are walking around the grounds, you have a sense of how they make it and the people who make the alcohol. One of the hardest things for companies to do is break traditions and cut its home-based employees in order to cut costs. While investors like to see the discipline of cutting costs, whether they are, it is tough decision for the executives, particularly when the operations are hometown.

In an article by Bruce Schreiner of the Associated Press, spirits giant Brown-Forman whose flagship brand is Jack Daniels Whiskey is reducing its workforce by 12% including closing its hometown barrel-making plant in Louisville. Brown-Forman has a workforce of 5,400 people and out of the total 210 work in the barrel-making plant.

The company will outsource the barrels from an external source and expects to receive $30 million from selling cooperage assets. The company has been making barrels since 1945 – raising barrels and honing the craft using wood to create distinct flavor characteristics to bourbon.

The reasons for the cost-cutting comes as American whiskey producers face changing consumer trends and renewed tariff threats. (when President Trump imposes tariffs on another country, they impose tariffs on American products including high profile whiskey).

According to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, a record 14.3 million barrels of bourbon are aging which is a large inventory.

Industry wide challenges include that younger adults are drinking less alcohol and threats of a trade war. Retaliatory tariffs have cost Kentucky’s bourbon industry a half-billion dollars in exports since 2018.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in every town and city there are plenty of bars and alcohol shops selling beer, wine and spirits. There are many companies in the industry although some of the biggest names are owned by the biggest companies. Whatever the trend of the young people who buy and consume, the larger companies buy a brand and use their abilities to market brands to sell their brands. While an individual may be attached to a certain brand, which one is popular goes up and down and sometimes companies must do the difficult thing to maintain profits.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.