2025 New Orleans Bourbon Festival

Before prohibition, the distilled spirits industry relied on local farms for grain supplies, which often meant local, specialized grain varietals. After prohibition ended, the farming industry had started to become industrialized, and many of the local varietals were traded for homogenized, high-yield grain varietals. Now craft distilleries are starting to bring back pedigreed grains, which is not only changing the flavor landscape in whiskey, but which also may help us prepare for climate change's impact on agriculture.