States with the Most Distilleries
All states ranked by number of TTB-permitted distilleries.
What This Ranking Tells Us
The craft distillery movement has exploded since 2010, with permit counts growing faster than any other alcohol category. California leads in total distilleries, but Tennessee and Kentucky — the historic heartland of American spirits — maintain enormous per-capita representation. New York has emerged as a major player with favorable farm distillery laws that encourage grain-to-glass production. Craft distilling differs from brewing in requiring significantly more capital investment and regulatory compliance.
How to Read the States with the Most Distilleries
This ranking covers 51 states scored by distilleries. The leader is California at 137, with Texas (123) in second place and New York (111) in third. Every number comes from the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) federal permittee database — the same source the federal government uses to track alcohol producers, importers, and wholesalers. The registry is released publicly under FOIA and refreshed as permits are issued, amended, or surrendered.
Raw totals surface the largest state beverage economies but mask very different structures. California, Washington, and New York combine all five permit classes. Other high-ranking states (Kentucky for distilleries, Colorado for breweries) concentrate heavily in a single category. Reading raw totals alongside per-capita rankings gives the clearest picture of how deeply beverage production is embedded in a state relative to its population.
Federal permit counts are not a direct proxy for alcohol consumption, economic output, or public-health risk. State-level ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) rules govern retail access, distribution, and excise tax — all of which shape actual market conditions. NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) tracks per-capita drinking and alcohol-related outcomes separately; a state can rank high in producer counts and low in drinking rates, or vice versa. Use this ranking to understand where federally licensed production lives, then layer state ABC and NIAAA data on top for the full picture. Source: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Permit Registry.
| # | State | Distilleries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 137 |
| 2 | Texas | 123 |
| 3 | New York | 111 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 107 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 95 |
| 6 | Colorado | 91 |
| 7 | Ohio | 91 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 90 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 90 |
| 10 | Florida | 86 |
| 11 | Michigan | 84 |
| 12 | Oregon | 83 |
| 13 | Washington | 76 |
| 14 | Illinois | 73 |
| 15 | Virginia | 73 |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 68 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 65 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 55 |
| 19 | Missouri | 44 |
| 20 | Indiana | 42 |
| 21 | Georgia | 40 |
| 22 | Arizona | 25 |
| 23 | Connecticut | 25 |
| 24 | Idaho | 25 |
| 25 | Iowa | 25 |
| 26 | Maine | 25 |
| 27 | Maryland | 25 |
| 28 | Montana | 25 |
| 29 | Nevada | 25 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | 25 |
| 31 | New Jersey | 25 |
| 32 | South Carolina | 25 |
| 33 | Louisiana | 22 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 22 |
| 35 | New Mexico | 22 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 22 |
| 37 | Vermont | 22 |
| 38 | Kansas | 18 |
| 39 | Alaska | 14 |
| 40 | Alabama | 12 |
| 41 | Hawaii | 12 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 12 |
| 43 | Utah | 12 |
| 44 | Arkansas | 10 |
| 45 | Delaware | 10 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 10 |
| 47 | West Virginia | 10 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 10 |
| 49 | Mississippi | 8 |
| 50 | North Dakota | 8 |
| 51 | Washington DC | 8 |
Source: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Permit Registry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is distilling growing so fast?
Several factors converge: changes in federal and state regulations lowering barriers to entry, consumer demand for craft and locally-made spirits, higher profit margins compared to craft beer, tourism appeal (distillery tours), and the success of craft cocktail culture in major cities driving demand for unique, small-batch spirits.
What is the difference between a distillery and a brewery permit?
Distillery permits (DSP — Distilled Spirits Permit) allow production of spirits through distillation. They carry stricter federal requirements than brewery permits, including bonded warehouse obligations, more detailed record-keeping, and higher excise tax rates. A business may hold both permit types if it produces both beer and spirits.
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Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.