Suntory Global Spirits is to halt production its Bourbon whiskey brand Jim Beam for for 2026 at the production site in Clermont, Kentucky.
In a statement, James B. Beam Distilling Company said it was planning “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”.
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It added: “We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026.”
Distillation will continue at the company’s FBN craft distillery in Clermont and its Booker Noe distillery in Boston. Its warehousing and bottling operations also continue to function in Clermont.
The James Beam visitor centre still remains open to the public, Suntory said.
When asked about how the distillation pause was expected to impact employees, the group said it was reviewing how it could use its staff during the distillation pause and that there were “ongoing” talks taking place with a union.
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By GlobalDataJust Drinks has asked the Maker’s Mark Bourbon producer to confirm the number of people currently employed at the site. According to local newspaper the Lexington Herald-Leader, around 1,500 worked for Jim Beam in 2024.
The business employs around 6,000 people across 30 countries worlwide.
More distillers have been announcing production pauses in whiskey this year globally.
Last month, Diageo announced it had paused production at its Roseisle Maltings site in north-east Scotland as part of the whisky giant’s efforts “to balance capacity against current demand”.
Earlier in September, the London-headquartered group also revealed it had temporarily halted production at two of its US distilleries, the Balcones Distillery in Texas and at a distillery in Tullahoma, which produces George Dickel Tennessee Whisky.
This year it has also paused production at a whiskey distillery in Lebanon in the US state of Kentucky. The facility produces Bulleit Bourbon.
