According to multiple sources, including the Associated Press, proud distiller Jim Beam is halting production at its Clermont facility for at least the next year — bringing a level of uncertainty to one of Kentucky’s largest industries.
In a statement to business journals and the general public alike, Jim Beam officials said the decision to pause efforts would give the company time to “invest in improvements at the distillery.” Bottling and warehousing at the site will remain open, as will the James B. Beam Distilling Company visitors center and restaurant, and the company’s larger distillery in Boston, Kentucky, will stay in operation.
Amid tariffs from the Trump administration and reportedly slumping demand, Jim Beam is but one of several bourbons that requires at least four years of aging before bottling and distributing the intoxicating swill.
Per the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, overall exports of American liquor fell nearly 10% in 2Q 2025, with U.S.-to-Canada transactions falling 85% from April to June.
But while whiskey makers continue to deal with see-saw arguments over tariffs for Europe and Canada — two major importers of American spirits — alcohol demand in America is also currently waning, and for different reasons.
According to a Gallup poll conducted this past summer, 54% of U.S. adults say they consume alcohol — the lowest level Gallup has recorded in nearly 90 years.
This is a three-year decline, where drinking rates have fallen from 62% in 2023 and 58% in 2024, and for the first time since the poll’s beginning in the early 1930’s, a majority of Americans say moderate drinking — at least 1-to-2 drinks daily — is “bad for one’s health.”
This decline does coincide with newer research suggesting no level of alcohol consumption is safe. Women, in general, are down 11 points since 2023 to 51%, while men are down five points in the same span to 57%.
Young adults, previously coined as a “party” generation, are down from 59% in 2023 to 50% now, and there’s clearly been a political shift. Registered Republicans have shown a sharp drop in daily drinking, down 19 points to 46%, while Democrats hold steady at 61%.
Gallup also contends this isn’t all driven by expanded marijuana legalization, and thus switching one vice for another.
This past summer, a record-low 24% of drinkers had a drink within the last 24 hours, and 40% said it had been more than a week since their last drink — the highest level since 2000. The average consumption of 2.8 drinks per week is the lowest since 1996.
Meanwhile, bourbon production has actually grown significantly in Kentucky during this timeline. As of this last January, there were 16 million barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky rick-houses, which was more than triple the amount from 15 years ago.
Nearly 95% of all bourbon made in the U.S. comes from Kentucky, and the industry annually brings more than 23,000 jobs and $2.2 billion to the state.
