Thank you, Emily, for that report.

Now, more national politics.

Following a visit from King Charles the third, President Donald Trump announced yesterday that he's lifting the 10% tariff on Scotch and Irish whiskey coming into the U.S.

from Britain.

U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky praised the rollback, saying, quote, this move will give businesses the certainty they need to increase investment in Kentucky's economy.

After more than a year of looming high prices and increased costs.

Kentucky's bourbon industry and the consumers that support it can be hopeful for the future.

End quote.

Earlier today, our Mackenzie Spink spoke to Lexington Herald-Leader journalist Janet Payton on what this tariff rollback means for Kentucky's bourbon industry.

The Kentucky bourbon scene and the international Scotch industry are more intertwined than you might think.

So Brown-Forman, for instance, which we know here in Kentucky, is a major bourbon maker and producer of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, also owns Scotch brands and companies that we think of as, overseas.

The British spirits giant Diageo, which makes Johnnie Walker, also makes bullet bourbon here in Kentucky.

And so it's not just that just the bourbon and just the whiskey that's coming in.

It will lift all boats.

Similarly to Kentucky, the Scottish spirit industry has also slowed down recently, according to the Scotch Whiskey Association.

Export volume to the U.S.

fell 15% after the Trump administration announced the tariff last year.

People probably know that Kentucky's bourbon industry has been in a slump over the last year or so.

What you may not realize is that that's been the case overseas as well.

So Scotland's Scotch industry also has been in an economic downturn.

And so this tariff, like all the tariffs, have been kind of an extra weight depressing their sales.

One of the main exports of the bourbon industry isn't what goes into the bottles.

It's actually the empty barrels.

Experts say a more robust Scotch industry will lead to better export numbers.

For Kentucky producers that rely on selling used barrels across the ocean.

So Kentucky bourbon has to be aged in new charred oak barrels.

Everybody knows that.

I think the barrels, once they're used, can't be reused for bourbon, but they can be reused for other spirits.

And Scotch has traditionally bought up millions of barrels every year.

And that market has been severely depressed.

So companies like Brown-Forman that had been selling barrels overseas to Scotland had seen in the last year a 50 to 60% drop in their barrel sales, which meant a significant hit to their corporate bottom line.

Patent says the bourbon industry is still facing challenges, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.. Exports of American whiskey fell 19% in the last year, amounting to $250 million in loss.

For Kentucky edition, I'm McKenzie Spink.

Thank you.

McKenzie.

The Kentucky Distillers Association praised President Trump's decision to remove the tariffs, saying, quote, this action restores a reciprocal tariff free trade between our historic spirits and is especially important for Kentucky as Scotch distillers had long been the largest export market for Kentucky's used bourbon barrels.

And quote.