Operating craft distilleries in the U.S. 2023, by state
New York, California, and Texas have the highest number of craft distilleries in the United States, at a minimum 163 establishments in each state as of 2023. In total, there were around 2.751 craft distilleries operating in the United States that year.
What is Craft Distilling?
Distilling is the process of manufacturing spirits, and craft distilling typically refers to small-scale operations in which liquor is produced in smaller batches and often sold at a premium. Though there are dozens of major liquor brands on the market in the United States, craft liquor brands have sprung up all across the country in the last several years. The total number of craft distilleries in the United States peaked in 2016 at 1,308, but this number has since decreased by around 100 distilleries.
Spirits Market in the U.S.
In the United States, the top selling types of spirits are vodka and whiskey, at about 74.9 and 74.6 million 9-liter cases annually. Rum is another popular spirit, though volume sales have been steadily decreasing since 2010. When it comes to individual liquor brands in the United States, Tito's vodka, Smirnoff vodka and Crown Royal were the three most popular brands in 2022 in terms of volume sales.
