Beam To Shutter Main Distillery For 2026

The James B. Beam Distilling Company dates back to 1935, when Colonel James Beam built his new distillery in Happy Hollow after the end of Prohibition. Since then, the Clermont, Kentucky distillery has been chugging away filling barrels of Bourbon. That comes to a temporary end with the start of 2026, as Suntory Global Spirits plans to shut the distillery down for the entire year, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In a statement, the company said “while we will continue to distill at our (Fred B. Noe) 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.”

The move comes at a time when whiskey makers are facing a glut of overproduction and excess inventories. According to Treasury Department data released earlier this month, U.S. distillers have produced 55 million proof gallons less whiskey this year than they did in 2024, and the industry has had to deal with slumping sales and trade wars as well.

The Clermont distillery is the flagship for Beam’s operations in Kentucky, and is home to one of the most popular stops on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The visitors center and Kitchen Table restaurant will remain open during the shutdown, and bottling and warehousing operations will not be affected.

According to the Herald-Leader, there is no word on how many jobs will be affected by the shutdown.

This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.