Bourbon maker Jim Beam halts Kentucky production amid ongoing trade tensions | CBC News

Canada Alcohol for sale at an LCBO store in downtown Toronto on Jan. 31, 2025. Jim Beam is halting production at its main distillery in Kentucky for all of 2026 amid the ongoing challenges and strain faced by the U.S. liquor industry.(Tina Mackenzie/CBC) Empty shelves that had previously been stocked with American whisky at a liquor store in Vancouver in March.(Ben Nelms/CBC) Bourbon maker Jim Beam halts Kentucky production amid ongoing trade tensions 85% drop in spirits exported from U.S. to Canada between April and June Pour one out for Jim Beam. The maker of one of the U.S.'s most iconic bourbon whiskies is halting production at its flagship distillery in Kentucky for all of 2026 amid the ongoing challenges and strain faced by the U.S. liquor industry - part of the fallout from Trump's trade war. In a statement provided to CBC News Monday, the James B. Beam Distilling Co. confirmed that "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." "We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026," the statement says. The company said it will continue to distill at its smaller FBN craft distillery , which makes experimental brands, and at its Booker Noe distillery in Boston, Ky. The company will also still bottle and warehouse stock at its flagship location in Clermont, Ky. The main Clermont distillery produces about a third of the company’s annual output, according to the New York Times . Local Kentucky media report that the Clermont campus also produces Knob Creek, Baker’s, Booker’s and Basil Hayden’s. WATCH | U.S. bourbon returns to N.S. shelves: The company didn't provide a reason for the one-year pause of distilling activities at the one facility. But the move coincides with an all-time high of bourbon currently aging in barrels. In October, the Kentucky Distillers' Association warned that Kentucky had 16.1 million aging barrels of bourbon in its warehouses, and added that distillers were stuck with a "crushing" $75 million US tab in aging barrel taxes - a property tax on the value of barrels of aging spirits. Among other reasons, the trade association noted that "continued uncertainty over tariffs" have " slashed exports ." 85% drop in spirits exported from U.S. to Canada Whisky makers are dealing with back-and-forth arguments over tariffs in Europe and in Canada. Back in February, provinces pulled millions of dollars' worth of U.S. wine and spirits from store shelves in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods. Overall exports of American spirits fell nine per cent in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States . The most dramatic decrease came in U.S. spirits exports to Canada, which fell 85 per cent in the...

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