Study Finds More Than 1,300 Active Craft Spirits Producers in U.S.

NEW YORK (PRNewswire) — More than 1,300 craft distillers operate in the U.S., according to research spearheaded by the American Craft Spirits Association.

The Craft Spirits Data Project found that the country’s 1,315 craft distillers produced 4.9 million cases and generate $2.4 billion in retail sales in 2015, up 27.5 percent and 27.9 percent, respectively, since 2010. Additionally, the market share of U.S. craft spirits reached 2.2 percent in volume and 3 percent in value in 2015, up from 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent in 2010.

For the purposes of the project, a joint effort among ACSA and the International Wine and Spirits Research, U.S. craft spirits were defined as distilled spirits that are produced in the U.S. by licensed producers that have not removed more than 750,000 proof gallons from bond, market themselves as craft, are not controlled by a large supplier and have no proven violation of the ACSA Code of Ethics.

Other findings by the project included:

• Exports of U.S. craft spirits reached 523,000 cases in 2015, adding more than 10 percent of additional volume to U.S. craft distiller total sales.
• The industry employed more than 12,000 full-time employees, with capital investments approaching $300 million.
• The top five states by number of craft distilleries — California, New York, Washington, Colorado and Texas — make up 35.6 percent of U.S. craft distillers, with the next five states — Oregon, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida — comprising an additional 16.5 percent of the market.

The Craft Spirits Data Project collected data from spirits consumers, suppliers, distributors, and on- and off-premises retailers between January and August.