Kentucky Bourbon Too Hard to Swallow for Canadians
Tariffs, Bourbon, and Backlash
Published: March 5, 2025 •
2 min read
Anyone elected to a position in the US Congress is supposed to be, by definition, representing the people in the state that they were elected to represent. Mitch McConnell is no exception. But his support of Donald Trump certainly backfired on the people he represents in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Canada has long been one of the most important overseas destinations for Kentucky’s bourbon producers. But it was pulled from government‑run liquor stores across Canada as a direct result of
Trump’s decision to wage warfare on partners like Canada in the form of tariffs.
In states like Kentucky, where bourbon directly supports tens of thousands of jobs and contributes billions to the economy each year, this hits the commonwealth where it hurts like few things can. Suddenly, Mitch finds himself at odds with the president he has been supporting all along.
The episode underscores how quickly politics can reverberate through everyday life. A policy aimed at shifting macroeconomic conditions ended up affecting bar shelves, tourist dollars, and the livelihoods of farmers, distillers and workers whose lives are tied to bourbon production.
Now Mitch finds himself at odds with the state he has served for almost 50 years in Congress as well as an enemy of the MAGA masses, being singled out in Republican campaign commercials as anti-Trump and just as bad as, gasp, Democrats.
Karma is real.
