LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jim Beam announced in December that it's pausing distillation at its Clermont, Kentucky, facility for all of 2026.
Production will shift to the Booker Noe plant in Boston, Kentucky. Bottling and warehousing at Clermont will continue, and the visitor center and The Kitchen Table restaurant will remain open. No layoffs have been announced.
Stephen P. Schmidt broke the story for WDRB's reporting partners at Louisville Business First.
Pictured: in this frame grab taken from video, Stephen P. Schmidt, a reporter with Louisville Business First, talks about the falling demand for bourbon even as bourbon tours continue to be popular. (WDRB image)
"There's definitely been a shockwave of sorts, because there's been a lot of closings and pausing in the industry but none to the gravity of Jim Beam," Schmidt said. "Your average consumer, they're just not drinking as much alcohol as they once did, especially now that we're fully out of what we call the COVID boom."
There have been rumblings for years that the bourbon boom would eventually come to an end, and the proverbial "bubble" would burst. Schmidt doesn't think that's what is happening.
"I don't think it's a sky is falling situation," he said. "Everything has just kind of condensed."
He added it's also worth noting that bourbon tourism is still going strong, despite production being down.
Jim Beam released this statement upon news of the change at the Clermont plant:
"We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026. We’ve shared with our teams that while we will continue to distill at our FBN craft distillery in Clermont and at our larger Booker Noe distillery in Boston, we plan to pause distillation at our main distillery on the James B. Beam campus for 2026 while we take the opportunity to invest in site enhancements. Our visitor center at the James B. Beam campus remains open so visitors can have the full James B. Beam experience and join us for a meal at The Kitchen Table."
The Jim Beam Distillery is located at 568 Hollow Road in Clermont, Kentucky.
In a written statement released in December, Jim Beam said it is "always assessing production levels."
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