With U.S. booze pulled from shelves, Canadian bartenders are getting creative

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published September 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM PDT

A bartender begins to pour a drink from a bottle of Jack Daniels at a bar in San Francisco. (Paul Sakuma/AP)

After President Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, a number of provinces pulled American-made wines and spirits off the shelves.

Michael Collins, a national correspondent for USA Today, visited some bars in Montreal to see how bartenders were getting creative to make drinks — traditionally made with Kentucky bourbon and other American whiskeys — with Canadian whiskeys.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks to Collins about what he drank and what he heard from Canadians about the boycott of U.S. booze.

And, according to industry data, American alcohol sales to Canada are down more than 60% compared to a year ago.

Tong speaks to Marten Lodewijks, President of the beverage data and analysis firm IWSR, about the impact Canada’s boycott of U.S. wine and spirits is having on alcohol companies.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.