Booze boost: N.B. alcohol producers see 'silver lining' in tariff war with U.S.

Trent Jewett, with help from his wife and son, has been building his brand of flavour-infused vodka in Harvey since Big Fiddle Still was incorporated in 2018. 

This year is proving to be his best yet. With a 26 per cent jump in sales, Jewett has his foot in the door to take over the market currently dominated by Sour Puss, an American liqueur used in cocktails and martinis that is now unavailable in New Brunswick.

"Within the next couple of weeks, you'll have a green apple sour, you'll have a red raspberry sour, and you'll have a prohibition blues sour, which is very exciting for us," he said.

Jewett is one of several New Brunswick craft alcohol producers experiencing a spike in sales in the wake of an ongoing tit-for-tat tariff war between Canada and the United States.

Since early March, most provinces, New Brunswick included, have pulled American liquor from store shelves in retaliation.

That's left a gaping hole in a market that smaller producers are racing to fill with local products. 

Jewett isn't wasting any time making the most of the sudden, unexpected demand for locally produced craft alcohol.

"People are proud of craft, very supportive of craft more so than ever," he said. "They're buckling down and looking after the ones that are close to them in their communities. And I think that's fantastic."

N.B. Liquor said overall, local producers are seeing a six per cent increase in sales over this time last year, not including big producers like Molson and Moosehead.  

Spokesperson Tanya Greer said in a statement "the co-ordinated tariff response created more space for local, Canadian and international products" but stopped short of connecting the dots to the tariff war. 

"Customers have generally reacted positively to this change. In terms of new trends in buying habits, it's too early to say with certainty but early signs look favourable."

Geoff Loukes is the owner/operator of Sculpture Hospitality and manages inventory for more than 60 bars and restaurants across the Maritimes. He isn't afraid to say the recent removal of U.S. products is behind the bump, and said it could create "life-changing opportunities for local producers."

"I've seen a lot of my clients actually pull products off the shelves and redo their menus to support Canadian products," he said.

Loukes said producers like Big Fiddle Still now have an open market to expand their business, and become the mainstay — regardless of what happens down the road in the trade war.