Global status spirits sales fell 10% in 2025, marking a second straight annual decline.

The global market for high-end spirits is shrinking as wealthy buyers become more cautious and demand stronger reasons to pay premium prices, according to a new study from drinks research firm IWSR.

IWSR said Thursday that the global value of status spirits, excluding baijiu, fell by 10% in 2025, marking a second straight year of decline. The firm defines status spirits as products with a globally weighted average retail price of at least US$100 per bottle. The report points to a weaker economic backdrop, geopolitical tension and the start of U.S. tariffs during 2025 as factors that hurt confidence and curbed spending. It said the conflict in Iran has added to that pressure.

The study describes a market in which consumers have not abandoned expensive spirits, but have become more selective. Buyers are now looking more closely at what justifies a high price, including rarity, age, production quality and origin. Guy Wolfe, senior insights manager for status spirits at IWSR, said the important change is not simply lower demand, but the way purchases are being judged. He said spending carefully is now seen by many affluent consumers as sensible behavior rather than a sign of trading down.

The downturn was not evenly spread across markets. China posted the sharpest drop, with the value of its status spirits market down 25% in 2025, according to IWSR. The U.S. fell 6%, while duty free sales declined 3%. The firm said smaller and less developed markets gained share as some buyers moved away from traditional luxury centers. Wolfe said the customer base is also broadening, with more interest from Millennial and Gen Z consumers, especially in Asia, and more newly wealthy buyers emerging in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

By category, cognac had one of the steepest declines, falling 17% in value, largely because of its performance in China. Scotch declined 9% but held onto its overall share of the market. Agave spirits were the only category to post growth, rising 2% in value. IWSR also said Japanese whisky continued to show areas of strength, especially in travel retail and in markets where the category is still developing from a smaller base.

One of the clearest findings in the report is that status spirits buyers are becoming more skeptical of artificial scarcity. Limited editions and exclusive releases no longer carry the same weight if buyers believe they were created mainly as marketing tools. IWSR said demand has held up better for products that offer what consumers see as real rarity, including private casks, bespoke bottlings and spirits with a clear production story and documented origin. Wolfe said those products can avoid some of the problems associated with oversupply and volatile resale prices.

The report points to last year’s Distillers One of One charity whisky auction at Sotheby’s as an example of how unique offerings can still attract strong demand. The event, built around one-off bottlings, raised US$3.1 million across 39 lots, beating expectations. For producers, that suggests buyers are still willing to spend heavily when they believe a bottle is truly hard to replicate and its story can be checked.

Age is also becoming a more important signal, especially at a time when consumers want simple ways to judge quality. IWSR said buyers at lower status price points, where disposable income is under more pressure, are increasingly drawn to age statements, established brand names and smaller formats that make purchases easier to manage. In Scotch, the report said, the number of status releases without an age statement has fallen over the past two years, while launches carrying age statements of 18 years or less have increased sharply.

At the higher end, producers are adding more permanent, older expressions to their ranges, helped in part by greater availability of mature stocks. Wolfe said that trend should not be read as nostalgia. He said buyers want something they can verify in a market where claims of scarcity are under more scrutiny. In other words, the age statement is working less as a romantic nod to tradition and more as a practical proof point.

IWSR also said high-end buyers are placing more value on access and community. The firm found that people purchasing status spirits increasingly want experiences tied to the bottle, including distillery visits, tasting events, relationships with cask owner groups and invitations to gatherings such as charity auctions. The report said this is one of the fastest-moving areas of product development, as brands expand beyond the bottle itself and try to turn purchases into an entry point for ongoing participation.

That shift reflects a wider pattern in luxury spending, where consumers often place more importance on experiences than on physical goods alone. Wolfe said the trend has moved beyond simple hospitality and now includes a stronger desire for belonging. For brands, that means the product is no longer enough by itself. Access to makers, visibility into production and contact with a like-minded group of collectors or drinkers are becoming part of the value proposition.

The study also says provenance is gaining importance over pedigree, especially in whisky. Producers from countries outside the traditional leading origins of Scotland, the U.S., Ireland and Japan are increasingly able to sell bottles above the US$100 mark. IWSR said local whiskies from India, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Denmark are finding buyers despite lacking decades or centuries of history.

To support those prices, newer producers are leaning on other forms of credibility. The report points to detailed local storytelling, tropical aging conditions, indigenous cask types, international competition awards and tightly controlled supply. It also says luxury packaging is increasingly being used to express regional identity through local materials and craftsmanship. Wolfe said that when inherited prestige is absent, buyers respond to signals they believe can be checked independently, such as scores, awards and a production story tied to a real place.