My prediction for 2013 is that micro-distilling will continue to explode in the US and increasingly around the world. These craft distillers will continue to nibble away at the market share of the big international spirits conglomerates increasingly causing a panic and fear of “death by a thousand cuts.” This is similar to what happened in the beer industry with the emergence of craft brewers. However, as the novelty wears off about the newness and localness of the re-emergence of micro-distilling, these craft distillers are going to have to start actually making good drinkable products, right now most of them don’t. And they’ll have to figure out how to market them better. Otherwise, they will never break out of their own zip code. The era of the industrialized, international mega brands in the spirits business is starting to draw to a close.

Steven Grasse

Read more 2013 Predictions here.