The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and Park Street today presented highlights from the 2026 Craft Spirits Data Project (CSDP) at its Annual Craft Spirits Economic Briefing. Tom Bard (President, ACSA and Co-Founder of The Bard Distillery) and Emily Pennington (CEO, ACSA) shared key sales data and insights from the 2025 calendar year. The Craft Spirits Data Project, introduced in 2016, is a first-of-its-kind research initiative that aims to provide a solid and reliable fact base for evaluating performance and trends in the U.S. craft spirits industry. The CSDP, which seeks to quantify the number, size, and impact of craft spirits producers in the U.S., is an effort led by ACSA and Park Street.
As of August 2026, there were 2,131 active craft distillers in the U.S., representing a 6.6% decrease year-over-year. This marks the first time closures have outpaced distillery openings.
2025, represented the second sharper leg of the craft spirits downturn that started in 2023. The U.S. craft spirits category declined for the third consecutive year and lost share of the total U.S. spirits market. The craft spirits category represented 11.7 million 9L cases (versus 12.7 million in 2024) and $7.3 billion in sales for the year, a volume decrease of 8% and a value decrease of 3.7%.
Over the past decade, the tasting room has become the foundation of the craft spirits business. Sales at the distillery grew from 14% of craft spirits sales in 2015 to 26% in 2025, meaning more than one in four craft bottles is now sold directly to the consumer who walked through the door. The shift reflects a market that has become harder for small producers to reach. After climbing to 54% of craft sales in 2020, sales in other states fell to 51% in 2025 as distributors narrowed their portfolios to work through excess inventory, export markets shrank under tariffs, and most states continued to prohibit distillers from shipping directly to consumers.
In the face of tough conditions, craft producers sharply reduced investment in their businesses. The average amount invested by a craft producer fell from $288,900 in 2024 to $239,800 in 2025. Total investment by all craft producers declined for the second year in a row, to $526 million, down from $811 million in 2024.
BY THE NUMBERS: KEY DATA POINTS FROM THE 2026 CSDP:
- Craft spirits volume decreased by 8.0%. 11.7 million 9L cases were sold at retail in 2025, down from 12.7 million in 2024.
- Craft spirits value decreased by 3.7%, totaling $7.3 billion in sales for the year.
- Craft lost market share by volume and value. Craft’s share of the total U.S. spirits market fell to 4.2% by volume (from 4.5% in 2024) and 7.3% by value (from 7.5%).
- The number of active craft distillers fell to 2,131 as of August 2026, down 6.6% from 2,282 a year earlier.
- Employment within the U.S. craft market declined for the second year in a row, reaching 21,285 full-time domestic employees, down 25.6% from 28,628 in 2024.
- Exports, an important runway for growth, fell 13.4% in 2025, for a total of 123,000 9L cases.
