Oregon, where The Whiskey Wash is published from, is an alcoholic, economic powerhouse. Now when I say this I don’t mean we are all a bunch of alcoholics spending lots of money on booze, but rather the fact the so-called “alcohol cluster” of businesses in the state, including distilleries, look to be one of the runaway stories of successful job creation compared not only to other statewide employment sectors, but also to other states in general.

This new data, recently revealed by Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis, highlights that, since the start of 2008, new jobs falling into this cluster have increased 46 percent, or around 5,200 jobs. It isn’t clear exactly along what lines those jobs breakdown (i.e. server at a brewpub versus whiskey distiller), given the sector includes “breweries, wineries, distilleries and their distributors and retail outlets,” but what is interesting to note is this number may actually be underestimated given some breweries/brewpubs are classified instead as restaurants and thus tracked differently.

image via Oregon Distillers Guild

To put all of this in another perspective, Oregon is typically at an under 1.5 percent share margin of the total when compared to other states on many things such as population, according to state government officials. This jumps however for the alcohol cluster, putting the Beaver State at 2 percent of total, which is quite large compared not only to other rankings, but also when put up against being relative to other states.

This all makes total sense when you consider that not only does Oregon have one of the most vibrant distillery scenes in the country, but also the fact its largest city, Portland, has the largest number of breweries, and always growing, of any city in the world.

h/t OPB

By Nino Marchetti, The Whiskey Wash

The Whiskey Wash (http://thewhiskeywash.com) is a Portland, Oregon based news and information website focused on all things whiskey. We cover new whiskey releases from around the world, tour distilleries to give you an insider’s look into great whiskey being made, review whiskies you are considering buying and much more. Our staff of whiskey writers is led by Nino Marchetti, a dot-com veteran and lifestyle journalist always on the hunt for a great glass of bourbon or Scotch.

The post Oregon Booze Scene Making Beaver State An Economic, Job Creating Powerhouse appeared first on WhiskeyTownUSA.

The strongest supporting evidence around whiskey’s resurgence comes from the Scotch Whisky Association, which published a report yesterday showing how its members are contributing nearly £5 billion overall to the UK economy and employing over 40,000 individuals. To put this in another perspective, the amount of money Scotch is adding to British coffers makes it a bigger industry then the likes of iron and steel, textiles, shipbuilding and computing. It is also larger than other UK food and drink sectors, including meat, dairy, beer and soft drinks.

“This new report shows just how significant the Scotch Whisky industry is to the wider UK economy,” said David Frost, Scotch Whisky Association chief executive.

The bourbon sector, meanwhile, just reported the largest ever number of tourism related visits to the 18 participating distilleries of the famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail and related Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour (the latter more focused upon “craft” distillers such as Corsair). It is said there were 725,000 visits last year, to be specific, which brings along with it increased tourism spending in Kentucky and greater potential for bourbon purchases of related brands once a visitor returns to where he or she lives.

“Some of our distilleries are up 200 percent in attendance over the last five years,” said Eric Gregory, president of the nonprofit Kentucky Distillers’ Association, in a statement, “which is great news for local communities that are reaping the tourism benefits. And [the] best news is that we keep adding more and more distilleries.”

The bottom line here is this – whiskey globally is more than just what’s in the bottle. It is also the story of the successful rebound of an industry helping to keep workers employed and dollars flowing through local coffers. And that’s an awesome thing to see.

By Nino Marchetti, The Whiskey Wash

By Tish Lester, The Whiskey Wash

The Whiskey Wash (http://thewhiskeywash.com) is a Portland, Oregon based news and information website focused on all things whiskey. We cover new whiskey releases from around the world, tour distilleries to give you an insider’s look into great whiskey being made, review whiskies you are considering buying and much more. Our staff of whiskey writers is led by Nino Marchetti, a dot-com veteran and lifestyle journalist always on the hunt for a great glass of bourbon or Scotch.

The post Bourbon Isn’t Just For Drinking – The Positive Economics Of A Bottle Of Whiskey appeared first on WhiskeyTownUSA.