Jim Beam plans to shutter a distillery for all of next year

Bourbon maker Jim Beam is halting production at one of its distilleries in Kentucky for at least a year as the whiskey industry navigates tariffs and slumping demand for a product that needs years of aging before it is ready.

Jim Beam said the decision to pause bourbon making at its Clermont location in 2026 will give the company time to invest in improvements at the distillery. The bottling and warehouse at the site will remain open, along with the James B. Beam Distilling Co. visitors center and restaurant.

The company’s larger distillery in Boston, Kentucky, will continue to operate, the company said.

The move comes as Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry grapples with a glut of whiskey and a slump in demand. The industry has already pulled back production by more than 28% to the lowest level since 2018. 

At the same time, Canada has been boycotting American spirits all year in retaliation for President Trump’s trade war and U.S. whiskey sales to that country are down by more than 60%.

Jim Beam is operated by Suntory Global Spirits, who also owns Maker’s Mark. Distilling at Maker’s Mark is not affected. 

Suntory, which bought Jim Beam in 2014, says it has invested more than $540 million in its Kentucky facilities and that more than 100,000 people visit the James B. Beam Distilling Co. and Maker’s Mark every year.



(AP Photo Keith Srakocic)