“There are seven — yes, seven — different taxes on bourbon, accounting for more than half of the cost of each and every bottle. These taxes include local, state, and federal taxes, and an ‘ad valorem’ tax — a tax that is paid on each barrel every year that it spends aging in the warehouse. That’s part of the reason those ‘old’ bourbons, such as an 18-year, are so expensive. Not only have the angels taken a share every year, meaning the barrel is getting lighter and lighter, but taxes have taken a share, meaning while the distiller hasn’t been able to sell any of the bourbon, they’ve been paying for it anyway.”
– Kaitlyn Soligan, Matson & Gilman bourbon tours