Sales of American wine and spirits in Saskatchewan have dropped sharply, even after the provincial government decided to return U.S. alcohol to liquor store shelves. The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority reports sales of U.S. wines and spirits fell by about 40 per cent in the last fiscal year. Retailers say customers are making their own choices about whether to buy American products. “We really want to make sure the customer has the option to purchase American liquor if they want,” said Troy Verboom, CEO of Sherwood Co-op. “There’s been a lack of demand for the U.S. wines, especially the California wines, and we’ve expanded the Canadian wines as a result.” Bogdan Anghel, a Co-op store manager, says customers have come in and purchased full cases of popular bourbons such as Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam. “That was a strong sign for us that the product was still in demand, so we need to keep stocking them,” he said. In a written statement to CTV News, the Saskatchewan government said it’s up to customers to determine if they want to purchase U.S.-produced alcohol. Keeping American liquor on the shelves has not won Saskatchewan any favours when it comes to Trump tariffs. Tariffs are imposed on the nation as a whole, but it could count for something when Saskatchewan producers go looking for American customers
