Whiskey Brands Have Forgotten Their Best Customers. Now, They're Paying the Price

The whiskey industry is close to a perilous precipice, inching away from a peak and close to a contraction. Insiders dread the prospect of “glut,” an overabundance of production that leads to a collapse in value as consumers begin filling their glasses elsewhere. Niche bottles and brands are the first to feel it.

Take Ireland's Waterford Whisky. It has one of the most impressive, singular visions found anywhere in the whiskey world. By producing single farm, single varietal, and single malt whiskeys...