Bourbon and Distillery News for February 23, 2026

In this week's news, Kentucky lawmakers are proposing a major overhaul of alcohol taxes, Illinois could lower its DUI threshold to 0.05, Hotaling shuts down distilling in San Francisco, and the World Whiskies Awards name their 2026 America winners. Plus, a new Louisville whiskey venture and a Bardstown lawsuit. Here’s what you need to know this week! If you enjoy our podcast, we would greatly appreciate it if you would like and subscribe to it and also leave us a 5 star review. In addition, you can read and subscribe to my newsletter over on BourbonObsessed.com. There you can also find the links to the press releases or full articles for each of these news stories, as well as a whole lot more bourbon-related content. Thanks for listening! See you next time! Cheers!🥃