Move over, Kentucky. There's a new king in the bourbon business, a California king to be precise.More than just a powerhouse in the wine industry, California tops the list of states with the most distilleries, with 104 distilleries as of 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Kentucky, dubbed Bourbon Country and home to the "bourbon capital of the world," ranked fourth on the same list.
The Bluegrass state has 84 distilleries, a jump from just 19 a decade ago. The BLS reports Kentucky leads the nation as the state with the most distillery jobs; over 6,000 employees compared to 917 in California.Kentucky's Louisville Metro area is also ranked first in the top 10 metropolitan areas by distillery concentration, 22 times over the national average, according to the BLS. The number of distilleries in the U.S. has steadily grown, from 66 in 2001 to over 1,400 in 2021.