Whisky Prices Skyrocket in America Thanks to New Import Tariffs

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at 12:02The Drinks Business

Whisky lovers in the United States should brace themselves for difficult times. The import tariffs have been implemented and their effects are now becoming apparent. Whisky and other drinks are becoming significantly more expensive in the country.

FAQ

What's going on?
President Trump is sticking with import duties on European wine and strong spirits. This means producers will face higher costs and consumers in the US will end up paying more.

How much more expensive will whisky be?
That depends. For instance, a glass of whisky at the bar will on average cost an extra dollar, and the price of a bottle will increase by an average of 12 dollars.

Is only whisky getting more expensive?
No, other drinks in the United States will also become more expensive, although the price increase for these is somewhat lower.

Whisky prices in US skyrocket

The import tariffs, which have been much in the news of late, have been confirmed and are here to stay. EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic stated that wine and spirits are 'temporarily not' being exempted from the American duties.

Cutter Smith, the new President of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers America, had previously made clear the consequences of these tariffs:

'If these tariffs continue, the costs will sooner or later be passed on to the consumer. Brands and businesses decide how rapidly, but that it happens, is certain.'

- Cutter Smith

Smith's words are swiftly confirmed, as prices for whisky and other drinks have indeed immediately gone up.

Significant price increase for a bottle of Scotch

In the case of whisky, the increase means that distillers and beverage companies pay more to get their drinks into the US, and these costs have to be covered. As such, the price of alcohol in the country is rising.

At the wholesale level, that means a rise of almost one dollar per gallon. In the store, it's nearly 2 dollars per bottle of Scotch whisky and 0.26 dollars for Irish whiskey.

A dram at a bar in the United States will cost on average one dollar more. Want a bottle? That would cost over 12 dollars extra.

For the American government, this means roughly an additional 1 billion in revenue in this manner, but it does come at the expense of sales volumes and possibly even jobs, even at American distilleries and beverage companies.

EU continues to push for relaxation of tariffs

Although these tariffs are now in effect and seem set to stay for the time being, the EU has not given up. The EU Commission is still in talks with the United States to potentially get some relaxation of the tariffs.

One of the possibilities is that certain sectors, such as the beverage industry, may be exempted from the trade tariffs. Whether this succeeds, remains to be seen for the time being.