Congressional Briefing

We are not inventing a history. The history isn’t missing. The recognition is.

This two-page briefing was prepared as a leave-behind during the DISCUS Fly-In in Washington, D.C., for conversations on Capitol Hill on September 24, 2026.

AMBRu joined that industry visit with its own document: the Hill version of the working paper Recognition to Revenue (September 2026). The briefing speaks for AMBRu. It is not a DISCUS position paper, not a TTB petition, not a certification, not a claim of industry consensus, and not a record of a congressional hearing.

What the briefing states

American distillers already make rum and brandy in the United States. By value, the United States still imports far more rum and brandy than it exports. AMBRu’s compilation of official 2025 trade figures puts the U.S. rum and brandy import total at about $1.01 billion, against exports of about $125 million — an approximate U.S. trade gap of $887 million.

The aim is straightforward: help American distilleries compete, grow, and sell more American-made rum and brandy at home and abroad.

AMBRu seeks recognition of American Brandy and American Rum as distinctive products of the United States. The final regulatory structure and production standards should be developed with American producers. A fraction of the 2,000-plus operating U.S. distilleries is enough to start. A national trail can connect 500-plus potential destinations — distilleries plus historic sites, farms, museums, and tourism partners — across all 50 states.

Bourbon shows what recognition can become: a defined American product identity, then a map people can actually use. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail listed 74 experiences in 34 counties, with 2.7 million trail visits in 2025 and a reported $10.6 billion distilling industry impact and 23,935 jobs. AMBRu’s trail idea is national, not a copy of one state’s whiskey route.

Recognition creates a clear American product identity.
The trail makes that identity discoverable.
Recognition → Discovery → Visitation → Economic opportunity.

The ask

1. Support the producer-led development of American Rum and American Brandy toward recognition as distinctive products of the United States.
2. Refer and introduce AMBRu to rum and brandy producers, tourism offices, agricultural organizations, rural and economic-development organizations, and other relevant partners in your state or district.
3. Help expand the American Brandy & Rum Trail by identifying producers, agricultural partners, and historically significant sites.
4. Connect AMBRu with organizations working in American agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, trade, and rural economic development.

Current stage

Public working paper. Producer consultation. BETA national trail.

Read the paper: Recognition to Revenue
Trail map: ambru.org/map
Contact: info@ambru.org · +1 404-771-4332

Sources cited in the briefing: DISCUS / U.S. trade data; U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; Kentucky Distillers’ Association.