Popular Kentucky Bourbon Maker Jim Beam to Pause Production at Main Distillery

Kentucky bourbon maker Jim Beam says it plans to stop production at its main distillery on Jan. 1, as the state faces growing inventories. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariff agenda, Kentucky has faced a swelling supply of aging barrels amid trade uncertainty. In October, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association confirmed that the Bluegrass State maintained a record high of 16.1 million aging barrels of bourbon in its warehouses. The cost ultimately falls on distillers due to Kentucky’s tax on barrels during the aging process. The trade group reports that producers paid $75 million in aging-barrel taxes this year, up 27 percent from 2024....