On Fred Minnick’s latest YouTube livestream, he asked his followers the burning question, “What is causing bourbon burnout?”

He tackles the issues of people who have quit the bourbon industry, discusses the many people who have stopped “chasing” bottles, and more. One comment Fred received on Twitter/X was that there is just too much content and too much product.

“The sheer amount of product and content about the products out there. I also think a lot of people on the hobby are burnt out on the chase,” WiscoSportsFan wrote.

Fred said a number of the people he knew who were heavily involved in the bourbon culture and industry have left. When he reached out to ask them why they’ve moved on, he said many told him they were just burned out.

He also noted that a new bourbon “expert” seems to be born every day, creating a daunting avalanche of content for whiskey enthusiasts to consume. 

Another huge factor is the difficulty in finding certain brands and expressions.

“They got tired of trying to find the bourbon they want,” Fred said in his livestream. He thinks that is probably the No. 1 reason people leave.

Another commenter noted that bourbon marketing is an issue, and Fred agreed that “bad” marketing can be a turnoff. He notes there is a lot of smoke and mirrors in the whiskey industry when it comes to the marketing side of it.

From pricing to availability to whiskey quality to health concerns,, both the Twitter feed and the YouTube video (see below) unearthed many interesting perspectives and plenty of fascinating discourse.

Next year will be 20 years since I started covering bourbon. And in that time, I have seen so much burnout from professionals and fans alike. What do you think is the number 1 cause of people leaving bourbon?

— FredMinnick (@FredMinnick) July 17, 2025

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