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 from the Trump administration 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.
“We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand,” the company said in a statement.
Employees at the distillery are being reassigned within the company and right now Jim Beam plans no layoffs, according to the local United Food and Commercial Workers International Union chapter that represents the workers.