Statement from American Distillers’ President
Thursday, 13 Mar 2025
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this statement is absolutely dripping in American exceptionalism. enjoy your success all to yourselves.
Unjust? Disproportionate? Lmao.
“We tariff you and you must give up your sovereignty!”
Such a narcissistic country.
If they’re reacting like this, it means we’re hitting them squarely in the tender parts. GOOD!
Has Kentucky ever not voted Republican? They’re just gonna have to deal with it.
Notice the whining about Canada without acknowledging us by name. It’s disgusting and pathetic. Need to boycott harder.
Bourbon producers cannot claim ANY country “Has to carry our product”.
That type of attitude makes me NOT want to drink your country-cousin moonshine.
“Unjust”…seriously. I’ve always been a huge bourbon person, having 20-30 different bottles at a time. But to hell with them. They get to choose their representatives and need to live with the consequences. I will not go back tariffs or not. Going to be divesting myself of my collection one glass at a time.
I sent them the following e-mail. You can contact them at [https://kybourbon.com/industry/contact/](https://kybourbon.com/industry/contact/)
I also CC’d their entire team. They have since removed the e-mails for their individual team members from their website, along with this press release. I guess they really got a lot of responses.
**EDIT: Since people are asking, here are the individual e-mails of this association’s staff. For the people on the associations About page (https://kybourbon.com/industry/about/):
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]),
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]),
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]),
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) ,
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]),
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Hello,
I’m a Canadian who loves Kentucky bourbon.
Your association’s recent statement about the effect of retaliatory tariffs on the Kentucky bourbon industry is receiving a lot of attention up here in Canada. To call the actions of governments in Canada “unjust and disproportionate” is quite an eye-opening claim. I won’t argue politics with you. But strictly from a business perspective – comments like this are going to fuel a Canada-wide consumer boycott of your products long after this trade war is over.
You are a Trump-supporting association in a deep red state. Your administration is currently imposing deep and crushing tariffs on your closest trade partner, at the same time deeply insulting the people who live here, and even repeatedly threatening our sovereignty. It’s not a joke up here. It’s been receiving wall-to-wall news coverage here for the past 2 months – actions and statements by American companies are being widely scrutinized. Does your association have any liaisons in Canada who can help you to understand this? Essentially all of the effects on the bourbon industry you complain about will be felt by every sector and every company in Canada, including my own small business. Of course the governments here will take steps to mitigate the damage done to this country by your country. The removal of American alcohol from Canadian liquor stores (and red state alcohol specifically, in British Columbia) is a widely popular move here.
I understand that you need to craft your messaging in a way that appeals to your political leadership. And your industry no doubt has many true believers in the president, and by extension his plan to tariff America’s traditional allies (and your industry’s customers). Ironically, your statement is going to be read by hundreds of thousands of Canadians, and likely no one in the White House. People are not going to forget here, ok? Whether or not your association cares about the image of Kentucky distillers up here, I don’t know. Your product is so good, it speaks for itself – I get it. But personally, I don’t see how I could ever buy bourbon again, even after it becomes available again in Canada. You’ve lost this customer with your statement. But who cares, right?
Sincerely,
u/biograf_
Easy to fix. Stop threatening Canada and remove the dumb tariffs. Given that Ontario is the largest market in the world for their products, I understand why they are panicking, but they elected the dumb Orange Man.
Kentucky voted for this… cry more 🤷🏻♂️
Boohoo. Protest your government then.
Tell it to Trump and the MAGAsshats, Eric.
Oh boo hoo. Oh, so hitting our industries with tariffs is just business, but touching your whiskey is a travesty? Give me a break. To quote Trudeau, make it make sense.
I logically know there are good Americans. We met some very kind ones on a trip there in January. But my hatred for them grows each day. Like our reducing the profits of their bourbon industry is more important than their threats to forcefully annex our country. Give me a flipping break.
Thoughts and prayers, &c. 🙄
Surprise, surprise…tariffs cause hardship. Funny how Americans only care about it when it’s on their doorstep.
Disproportionate?! The US govt is spreading the lie that Canada has been taken over by Mexican cartels so they can annex us as terrorists.
[Trump adviser Navarro says Mexican cartels expanding in Canada | Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-adviser-navarro-says-mexican-cartels-expanding-canada-2025-02-04/)
Now that’s what I call disproportionate…or simply unhinged.
They voted for the Orange MAGAT. TFB.
Wait… didn’t I read other articles where he states that Canada is only 1% of their market share and they aren’t worried. Might have been another distillery, correct me. However, you are either not worried and proud, or worried that 1% will destroy your product heritage. Which is it? In the mean time, I’m grabbing some Canadian.
The state that gave the world turtle-Mitch is upset?
Good.
64.5% of Kentucky voters in 2024 voted for Trump. If it wasn’t for Mitchell McConnell (from Kentucky), Trump would have been impeached in the Senate during his 1st term, and we wouldn’t be in this situation right now. He had a lot of influence, but divided USA instead, along with Trump.
Not much of a drinker. Never had Bourbon in my life. Don’t care.
You got who you voted for. Ignorance and arrogance have consequences.
Call a fucking waaambulance.
American here. “How dare you hit us back” is entirely on-brand for Republicans. And they’re not used to anyone standing up to them. They’re used to Democrats meekly apologizing in response to their victim act.
Je
M’en
CALISSS (de ton industrie de bourbon)
Bye
And remind me who Kentucky voted for? Just for research purposes
You want to talk “unjust and disproportionate”, start by talking to Trump about Canadian border security.
I am forever amazed at the audacity to feel wronged by a relatively mild retaliation from a foreign sovereign country who you have threatened to annex.
Have americans never learned that annexation is BAD??
I have an idea for where they can shove the extra ears of corn that won’t be used for making whiskey anymore.
I have concepts of thoughts and prayers
Notice how they think pulling booze from our shelves is not proportional to saying they want to annex our country and then starting a trade war. Like wtf are you talking about, Kentucky. Gtfo I’m never buying bourbon again.
Thoughts and annexation
Unjust and disproportionate. “We just want to take over your country, plunder your natural resources and probably remove your right to vote, and right to public healthcare. Taking bourbon off the shelves is too far”.
The Lion, the Witch and the Audacity of this bitch.
Reminds me of watching the news when people got trapped in cruise ships during the pandemic, and an American lady being interviewed, “I don’t understand why they can’t at least come and get the Americans.” Because when it comes down to it, you are just people. Just like all other people on the planet, who should all have the same opportunities in life that you do. But they don’t. And instead of viewing that as an injustice that needs correcting on a global scale, it’s seen as your destiny because Americans are just “better”.
Go talk to your leader about his expansionist agenda, that is responsible for ALL OF THIS. Do some actual useful lobbying for a change.
“Kentucky Bourbon is a great American success story.”
Kentucky Bourbon WAS a great American success story. Fixed that for you, Mr Gregory.
The mental-toddler you elected says you don’t need Canada. So, enjoy the buying power of your new allies, North Korea and Russia. Whoops!
I would bet a million dollars that I don’t have that Mr. Gregory (lol… two first names, how “classy”) and a good chunk of his employees voted for Emperor Orange Pulpatine! It’s bloody Kentucky.
As such… I only have one response:
“Ha Ha! Get Rekt! But if you must earn a buck, you can market your dogwater as a sewer fatberg dissolver.”
Does someone need a kleenex???
It’s only been two days and Americans are begging for this to be over. MAGA people are the biggest pussies in modern history.
I thought they didn’t need us? That’s what this is about? American products for Americans. I’ll stick with Rye.
Do you think I wanted to give up Bourbon?
No. Life was going just fine before your country decided to state you wanted to economically destroy us and annex us.
You made me choose between bourbon and my country.
Even if the government didn’t pull it from the shelves, it would have sat their unsold.
Read the room, Eric.
Listen, I genuinely do feel bad about the innocent bystanders that will be affected by all of this, but what whiners like this don’t seem to realize is that ALL OF CANADA is an innocent bystander. We did not start this trade war, we’re just not as easy to push around as the U.S. anticipated. If you’re upset about what’s going on, take it up with your president, your senator, your congressman. Get mad, and get active.
¿You know what? now i want to buy a bottle of canadian whisky! the arrogance of the US is getting very annoying. Greetings from México!! (try our Sotol pls)
Im from Kentucky and I fully support Canadians retaliatory tariffs and removing American products from shelves.
Most of the people in this state voted Trump and are now finding out. The largest employer in the state is the federal government which is being slashed by DOGE. We also have several car manufacturing plants which are in immediate danger of closing the second Trump allows tariffs to apply to autos. Then we have a lot of farms which are in danger of shutting down because the immigrant labor they depend on is drying up.
The sad part is most Trumpers will not realize how badly Trump is screwing them because they are uneducated and live in disinformation bubbles, EVEN when their own livelihoods are being eliminated.
Fuck Trump. Elbows up Canada.
Also, can I please move to Canada? It really sucks here now.
Pobrecitos! 😿
No mention of tariffs just retaliatory tariffs. What an interesting narrative.
Good thing the United State’s strong sense of community and thorough social safety net will protect all of those workers until theyre able to get back on their feet.
It’s too little, too late now anyway, Kentucky. We’ll eventually put your bourbon back on our shelves once this trade war is resolved. But it will only be a gesture of goodwill, because no self-respecting Canadian will ever buy your bourbon again. The bottles will sit on our shelves and gather dust, like an old Republican. It’ll take decades to overcome this. Hope the Trump vote was worth it. $$$
As an American, I urge you to boycott everything from Kentucky. This is one of only a few states that overwhelmingly supported Trump and his agenda, with nearly 100% of the vote. They need to suffer and they need to lose jobs and face serious consequences. This is what they voted for and supported, and they must learn a lesson, or they will vote for someone like Trump again in the future.
As an American this response is embarrassing, ill informed, and misdirected. How about telling our dime store dictator to end this dumb ass trade war he started and to shut the fuck up about taking over Canada? Our brave neighbors to the north are pushing back harder against our grifter in chief than we are.