Kentucky bourbon maker lays off head distiller as whiskey contraction expands
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Green River laid off its head distiller amid industry contraction.
- U.S. whiskey production fell 28% through Aug. 2025 vs. 2024.
- Kentucky distillers hold a record 16.1M barrels amid sales, export declines.
Even “The Whiskey Without Regrets” is not immune to unhappiness: Green River Distilling in Owensboro, known by that slogan, has laid off its head distiller, as the bourbon industry contraction continues.
Aaron Harris, who had been head distiller at Green River since 2022, shared the news on his LinkedIn profile, announcing that he is now “seeking a new role,” open to work and that he has launched a consultancy.
Harris declined to comment further to the Herald-Leader.
In March 2025, the distillery laid off about a fourth of its workforce, eliminating about 26 of 100 positions. At the time, they said the move was necessary to “right-size” its production.
It’s unclear how many other employees at Green River have been affected this time.
A spokesperson for Lofted Spirits, the parent umbrella over Green River as well as Bardstown Bourbon Co., did not respond to a request for comment.
Green River, a historic Kentucky distillery that was revived in 2016, produces award-winning bourbon and rye whiskey under its own label as “The Whiskey Without Regrets.” Known for its unique horseshoe-shaped bottles, the brand and the distillery were purchased by Bardstown Bourbon Co. in 2022.
The distillery also produces whiskey under contract for other labels such as Dierks Bentley’s ROW94. That’s a segment of the spirits industry under increasing economic pressure.
MGP Ingredients, another major contract distillery, said in March its contract whiskey business had been cut by more than half in the last year.
Through August 2025, whiskey production was at its lowest level in years, down 28% from 2024 levels. Federal data shows that production was down by 55 million proof gallons from the same period one year earlier, the lowest eight-month production total since 2018.
In December, Jim Beam announced it would stop making bourbon at its home distillery for a year, although it has not revealed how much overall production has fallen. In March, the company said sales were down 2.4% for the first six months of its fiscal year.
The dramatic drop in whiskey production reflects the decline in sales seen by many major brands. Last year, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. reported domestic sales were down 1%, about $100 million.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s bourbon distillers are sitting on a record 16.1 million aging barrels of inventory, an all-time high as of Jan. 1, 2025.
With sales to Canada remaining largely cut off by President Trump’s ongoing trade war — Brown-Forman reports its exports to Canada down by more than 60% — the whiskey industry continues to contract. Last year Brown-Forman laid off 12% of its global workforce, including its entire Louisville cooperage.
Independent Stave reduced operations to one shift at a Kentucky cooperage, laying off 110 workers in August.
Diageo halted production through June at its Tennessee whiskey plant, home of George Dickel, as well as its Balcones plant in Texas. Last March, Diageo also paused production for several months at its Lebanon, Ky., distillery and permanently closed a Crown Royal bottling operation in Canada in February 2026.
An economic impact report released in January by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association warned that overall job growth in the industry had already plateaued and that further declines in exports and in domestic sales would result in job losses for the now-$10.6 billion Kentucky industry.
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 12:13 PM.
