20. A historic downturn in demand for Scotch, whiskey, cognac and tequila has left drinks makers sitting on a lake of unsold spirits, forcing them to mothball distilleries and slash prices to shift bottles piling up in warehouses. Five of the biggest listed alcohol producers — Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Campari, Brown Forman and Rémy Cointreau — are sitting on $22 billion worth of aging spirits, the highest level of inventory in more than a decade, according to their financial reports. In the most extreme case, French cognac maker Rémy’s €1.8 billion of maturing inventory is now almost double its annual revenues and close to its entire market capitalization.