Jim Beam Pauses Production As Bourbon Barrels Pile Up

This holiday season, support your struggling bourbon distillers! It’s the American thing to do!

Jim Beam will pause production at its main distillery in Kentucky on January 1st. The problem? Too many aging barrels and uncertainty over trade deals.

The Kentucky Distillers Association reports a record 16.1 million aging barrels of bourbon in the warehouses. Jim Beam and other distillers have to pay taxes on the booze they have in the warehouse, so they’re seeing record-high tax bills. In Kentucky alone, distillers are paying $75 million in taxes, an increase of 27%.

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On the sales side, distillers are facing a double-whammy. Americans have cut back on hard liquor purchases as the cost of living rises, and trade deals have led to poor international sales. In March, Canadian officials banned American liquor from stores, and the European Union threatened to raise tariffs by 50% in retaliation for other trade deals.

A company news release says production will stop at the main James B. Beam campus in Clermont, Kentucky January 1st while the distillery undergoes “in-site improvements”. Production will continue at the Fred B. Noe craft distillery in Clermont and the Booker Noe distillery in Boston, Kentucky.