CLEARWATER, Fla. — Von Payne Spirits, a bourbon maker and small business, has been around for three years, but its CEO is worried about future growth with high tariffs in place.

What You Need To Know

  •  Von Payne Spirits has been in operation for three years

  •  The company sells in several states and in Europe

  •  Von Payne Spirits CEO worries tariffs could hurt its bottom line

“We started with about 2,500 cases and now we are up to about 10,000 — and this year we hope to be around 15,000 cases and that’s going from the Florida market exclusively,” Steve Allen said.

Recently, The European Union said it’s delaying a planned rollout of 50% tariffs on American Whiskey, which were set to take effect in April. Those were in retaliation for President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Even with the EU saying it is delaying the retaliatory tariffs, Allen is watching closely. He says it has been rough so far, saying Von Payne has been taken off the shelves in Canada.

“Right now, I think everyone is tightening their belt, and we’re tightening ours and we’re doing the best we can to not increase prices,” Allen said. “But more than likely you are going to see a lot of price increases in the short term because of everything that is going on.”

However, he says the tariffs could create more demand in the United States.

“Little things make a big difference, and we are running on very tight margins. And so the impact of this, you know, can we make it up with U.S. based sales, and that’s right now the strategy — hey, can we open up new markets like Georgia and other states to make up for what we are selling in Europe,” he said.