The 2025 Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) Annual Economic Briefing shows that between 2003 and 2019 the average annual distilled spirits revenue growth rate was 4.4%. That average jumped during the pandemic to 5.1% annually from 2019 until post-pandemic when the trend dipped in 2024 for the first time in more than 20 years.
During ‘The Covid Years’, spirits were flying off liquor store shelves like water off a duck’s back. Consumers couldn’t get enough. It was hard for liquor stores (AKA: Essential Businesses) to keep the shelves full. But times have changed. Now, in a post-pandemic world as the economy has slowed, spirits are not flying off the shelves like they did over the last 24 months and store owners are not so eager to take on yet another ‘limited-edition’ spirit. So now what?
Unpopular Opinion: The Spirits Industry Doesn’t Need more Disruptors. It Needs More Finishers.
The shelves are full. The noise is louder than ever. And yet… most of it fades. Everyone wants to be the next big thing. Another whiskey brand with a “never-before-seen” story. Another RTD promising to revolutionize the shelf. Another glossy pitch deck about legacy, family, and bold innovation.
Some of them, sure — they’ve got promise. A clever angle. A great look. A bit of momentum. But promise doesn’t build brands. Hard work does.
And most of these big ideas? They die in a Google Drive folder before the label ever hits a bottle. Because brilliance isn’t rare. Follow-through is. Everyone has ideas. The question is — who’s willing to see it through when the launch buzz fades, when distributors stop returning calls, and when the money gets tight?
Chasing Attention vs. Building a Legacy
That’s the difference between those who chase attention and those who build legacy. Intent isn’t in the pitch. It’s in the persistence. It shows up six months later — when no one’s clapping, when the social media likes slow down, and all that’s left is the grind. That’s the moment most people quit. That’s where real brands are born.
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Ideas Are Easy – Spirits With Soul Are Hard
Anyone can launch a bottle. With a little design help and a sourced barrel, it’s easier than ever to look the part. But looking the part isn’t the same as earning your place. Not every spirit deserves to be remembered. And it’s not the proof, price, or packaging that makes the difference — it’s intent.
That’s what separates a pour that stops time… from one that fades before you’ve even set the glass down. I remember mine. It was a quiet night at a friend’s beach house. No pitch. No tasting notes. Just a smile and a pour: “You’ve gotta try this.”
It was Plantation Rum — a true sipping rum. Up until then, I thought rum was something you drowned in cola. But this? It was rich. Funky. Warm. Caramelized sugar, molasses, subtle fruit and fire. It didn’t scream. It whispered. And it stayed.
I poured another — not for the buzz, but for the memory. That’s what intent tastes like. It doesn’t beg for attention. It earns it. And then there’s the other kind…
Many brands begin with launch parties. Polished labels. Fancy press releases. But no soul. You taste it and instantly know: it’s a product. Nothing more. Because forgettable spirits are made by people who forgot to care.
‘Fine’ Is Forgettable
A master distiller once told me, “Fine is forgettable. If it doesn’t leave an impression — why make it?”
That line didn’t just stick with me — it haunts me. Because it’s true. Our industry isn’t drowning in bad, it’s drowning in fine. Fine whiskey. Fine gin. Fine RTDs. Fine cocktail menus, built from trend reports and spreadsheets.
Not offensive. Not memorable. Just safe. Polished. Sanitized. Fine is the ghost note of potential. The watered-down version of what could’ve been great — if someone had just cared a little more.
And here’s what most founders and marketers miss: The consumer knows. They know when your bourbon is a buzzword sandwich wrapped in a fancy bottle. They can smell when your story is algorithmic. They can feel when you’re chasing clout instead of crafting culture.
Intent is like seasoning — when it’s there, everything sings. When it’s not, it’s bland. Forgettable. Gone. And no amount of barrel finishes, influencer posts, or bottle tricks can fix it.
Because intent can’t be faked. You either give a damn — or you don’t.
This Isn’t Just a Spirits Problem
This isn’t unique to whiskey. It’s not even unique to drinks. It’s the symptom of a culture obsessed with starting, not finishing.
We’re surrounded by a graveyard of half-built brands. Unlaunched SKUs. “Coming Soon” websites that never made it past the photoshoot. Instagram pages that haven’t posted since 2022.
Big talk. Big plans. Little finish.
Everyone wants the rush of launch day. But who’s still there six months later when the hype has cooled, the bills are due, and the product needs to deliver? Almost no one.
Take Haus — the beautifully branded aperitif that almost redefined drinking culture. They had it all: stunning packaging, storytelling, momentum. But when it came time to raise the next round, to scale, to finish — they couldn’t. And now? They’re a cautionary tale.
Intent without execution is just noise. No matter how clever your idea is, how stunning the label, or how many influencers you hire — if you can’t finish, you won’t last. And in a category built on decades and in some cases centuries — that’s the difference between a flash… and a flame.
Intent is the Price of Admission
If you want to build something that matters — something that lingers — you can’t just care. You have to care more.
More than the trend. More than the market. More than the comfort of staying in your lane. Intent is the cost of admission. It’s what earns you a place on the shelf, and a spot in someone’s memory.
It’s the difference between:
— Slapping your name on a sourced barrel, and finishing something with your fingerprint, your palate, your purpose.
— Riding the momentum of a trend, and crafting something because you have to — because it’s in your bones.
— Adding another SKU to the lineup, and creating a pour that stops someone mid-sip, rewires their expectations, and sparks a story they’ll tell forever.
Intent isn’t a tagline. It’s not a feature. It’s the soul of the thing. And if you don’t bring that — why should anyone care?
Make Something Worth Sharing, Worth Remembering
This industry isn’t about scale. It’s about resonance. It’s about building bottles that matter — not to everyone, but to someone. It’s about crafting moments that stay. The kind where someone revisits your bottle five years later, takes a sip, and still remembers exactly where they were the first time.
Because fine fades. Intent leaves a mark. You don’t have to win the whole shelf, you just have to make something that stays on one.
Are you making noise? Or are you making something that just might change the way someone sees spirits, flavor, or even themselves?
We Either Burn Bright — or Fade Quietly
Jack London said it best:
“I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.”
That’s what it means to create with intent. That’s what it means to finish what you start. To burn. To build. To last.
The Spirits World Needs More Finishers
The spirit’s world doesn’t need another clever drop. Another hype cycle. Another brand that launches with fireworks and disappears by winter. It needs more finishers.
People who show up with soul. People who build with purpose. People who refuse to let “fine” be good enough.
If you’re crafting something that matters — don’t just launch it. Finish it. Refine it. Fight for it. Because no one remembers the product that almost made it. They remember the one that hit differently. The one that tasted like intent. The one they shared. The one that stayed.
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