669. Why Is 95 Percent of the World’s Bourbon Made in Kentucky?

为什么世界上95%的波旁威士忌都产自肯塔基州?

Freakonomics Radio

2026-04-03

46 分钟
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Is it tradition … or protectionism? And what happens when the bourbon boom turns into a glut?   SOURCES: Andrew Muhammad, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee. Brad Patrick, executive in residence and lecturer at the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics, bourbon fellow at the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits. Danny Kahn, master distiller and distillation and aging operations director at Sazerac. Ken Troske, labor economist and chair of the economics department at the University of Kentucky.   RESOURCES: "America's Bourbon Boom Is Over. Now the Hangover Is Here," by Aaron Tilley and Sadie Gurman (The Wall Street Journal, 2024). Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey, by Reid Mitenbuler (2015). "Code of Federal Regulations: Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits," (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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  • Most products can be sold pretty much as soon as they're made.

  • And that 's important if you 're in the business of making things because you can start

  • earning back your investment right away.

  • But some products require a further investment of time after they've been manufactured.

  • It could be years worth of time.

  • Certain cheeses come to mind.

  • Wine, occasionally, but especially spirits.

  • The most famous example is Scotch whiskey.

  • The older the barrel, the dearer the bottle.

  • And the most famous American example is bourbon.

  • I do n't happen to drink much bourbon, but the bourbon industry started to sound interesting

  • when we did a three-part series on the horse industry.

  • That series is called The Horse is Us, if you'd like to listen.

  • One interesting feature of the thoroughbred horse market is how concentrated it is in one relatively small area,

  • the bluegrass region surrounding Lexington, Kentucky.

  • Can you guess another industry that is concentrated in one small part of Kentucky?

  • Correct.

  • Bourbon.

  • So we thought we'd poke around that industry to see what we can learn.

  • Just one episode, though, not three.