BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Bourbon is a way of life in Bardstown, Ky. The town of more than 13,000 people, located about an hour from Louisville, is known as the bourbon capital of the world.
Kentucky distillers were hit hard in March 2025 when Canadian provinces pulled American alcohol and spirits off the shelves in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Most still have the ban in place.
“Suddenly that was a revenue stream that we had just overnight lost and we’re still trying to get it back,” said Tom Bard, co-founder of the Bard Distillery and a direct descendent of one of the brothers who founded the town in 1780.
Bard and his wife Kim opened their distillery in Graham, Ky. in 2019. They sold their products in British Columbia and Alberta, and they had plans to expand. The tariffs changed all of that.
“We’re just getting caught up in it and we’re suffering for it,” said Bard.
“I keep telling people, ‘stop the roller coaster,’ let us get off because we’re caught up in the middle of this on again, off again thing and we can’t predict our income,” Kim Bard added.
They’ve recently opened a satellite tasting room in Bardstown to make up for lost revenue.
“It’s been huge for us because it has created a whole new revenue stream,” Tom Bard said. “We’re doing what a lot of businesses are doing right now with the tariffs and other issues going on globally. And even in America, trying to get to other states with our products, spirits specifically. We are now focusing on our home market.”
The decision by the provinces to ban the sale of American alcohol and spirits meant distillers lost access to one of their largest trading partners.
According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, U.S. spirits exports to Canada have fallen from US$232 million a year before the ban to US$72 million, representing a 70 per cent decline.
Kentucky bourbon and other Kentucky whiskies exported to Canada dropped 42.4 per cent last year, going from US$43.7 million in 2024 to US$25.2 million in 2025, according to the Kentucky Distiller’s Association.
“We’re not just talking about the whiskey in the bottle, we’re talking about the entire supply chain being impacted,” said Michael Bilello, the president and CEO of the American Whiskey Association.
“We have to be able to predict. We have to be able to forecast how much whiskey you need in the future because it takes years, as you know, to age. But we’ve got to get back to business. Remain hopeful that talks will continue, and we hope to put this behind us very soon.”
While the Bards have their satellite tasting room up and running, they’re also hitting the pause button on other expenses.
“We no longer get to hire people that we needed to hire. Construction projects that we’re working on, trying to expand, we had to stop them,” Tom Bard said.
They hope a trade deal between the U.S. and Canada would see the return of the flagship American export back on Canadian shelves soon.
“Anytime there is any type of a trade war going on between countries, it just creates a snowball effect that’s hard to stop,” Tom Bard said. “Getting caught up in it is just hurting people on both sides of the border.”
