As I write this, I’m getting ready to leave for the 2024 ADI conference. It will be my first time in Baltimore, and I’m almost as excited to experience a new place as I am to see all my craft spirits colleagues in person.

I’m not alone. Americans are a traveling bunch. We’ll take over 800 million domestic trips this year — and that’s not counting international visitors to the U.S., about 67 million in 2023. With market access for craft distillers still limited by distributor gatekeeping, outdated ecommerce regulations, and crowded retail shelves, more of you are looking to tourism to drive sales and fill tasting rooms.

One of the nation’s craft spirits tourism leaders is this year’s ADI Distillery of the Year, St. Augustine Distillery. More than 175,000 visitors pass through its doors each year for tours, tastings, classes, workshops, and events. While hosting all those visitors, they’ve also managed to successfully lobby the state government to increase market access for all Florida craft distillers — the fluffy meringue on top of the key lime pie. You can read all about how they’ve built their distillery into a true destination in this issue’s cover story by Carrie Honaker.

Why are tourists so keen on distillery visits? I don’t think it’s just about the fun of cocktails and happy hour. Visiting a distillery combines culinary, manufacturing, and cultural tourism — bringing history to life and discovering new stories about old traditions. Take Baltimore, for instance. I’m already excited to visit producers like Baltimore Distilling Company and Sagamore Spirit that are at the forefront of the Maryland rye whiskey revival.

Distilleries are making those kinds of contributions to living culture around the world. In her spotlight on gentian in this issue, Susanne Masters talks about the biocultural diversity — shared culture between plant and human life — gentian has fostered in central France. Jacopo Mazzeo takes us on a global tour of distilleries finding new ways to tap into tourism, from collaborations with destination marketing organizations in Oregon to gin-making classes in England. And Susannah Skiver Barton talks with distillers about how they navigate a different kind of vacation — Dry January — that’s becoming increasingly popular, shifting purchasing patterns and consumer behavior.

Plus, no vacation is complete without a souvenir. By the time this issue comes out, my trip to Baltimore will be in the rear view. I’ll have a phone full of pictures, a new opinion on whether blue crabs are as good as my beloved West Coast Dungeness, and — I’m certain — a new bottle of Maryland rye for the liquor cabinet.

Cheers,

Margarett Waterbury

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Margarett Waterbury is the editor of Distiller Magazine. Based in Portland, Oregon, she covers drinks, food, and culture for national and international press. She is the former managing editor of Edible Portland, as well as the cofounder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey website twice recognized as Website of the Year by the International Whisky Competition. In 2017, Margarett won the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award from the Spirits Journal. She received fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019. Her first book, Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland’s Whiskies (Sterling), came out in 2020.