Former Jack Daniel’s Cooperage closes in Alabama
Alabama Cooperage, previously known as Jack Daniel’s Cooperage, will close in September, resulting in 71 job losses.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filed with Workforce Alabama, the owner of the cooperage, Independent Stave Company (ISC), reported the permanent closure of the site in Trinity, Alabama, on 16 July 2026.
The filing also reveals that the plant will close by 14 September, with 71 jobs affected.
The closure is said to be part of ISC’s ongoing efforts to align production with current market demand.
Teri Smith, marketing and communications director at ISC, said in a statement to The Spirits Business: “Independent Stave Company has made the decision to cease production operations at Alabama Cooperage in Trinity, Alabama, effective 14 September, 2026.
“We regularly evaluate our operations to ensure we are manufacturing efficiently, maintaining exceptional quality, and providing the reliable service our customers expect with long-term security of supply.
“These actions ensure we are making the best use of our vast production network and the significant modernisation investments we’ve made across our cooperage and mill operations, which position us for long-term success and the ability to support industry growth.”
Previously known as Jack Daniel’s Cooperage, the Alabama-based site was sold by Brown-Forman to ISC in 2024. Before the sale, the spirits company had also sold stave mills to ISC in Alabama, Ohio, and Tennessee.
At the time of the purchase, Brown-Forman said the cooperage would continue to supply barrels to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery as part of a strategic relationship between the companies.
The Spirits Business has reached out to Brown-Forman for a comment.
Established in 2014, the plant in Trinity, Morgan County, reportedly produced 1,300 barrels for wine and spirits per day in 2020.
Last August, ISC reduced its workforce at Kentucky Cooperage in Lebanon, resulting in 112 job losses.
The closure followed the company’s June acquisition of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel cooperage in Louisville from Brown-Forman for US$13.66 million.
In addition, ISC operates three other cooperages: Kentucky Bourbon Barrel South in Lebanon, Kentucky; Commonwealth Cooperage in Morehead, Kentucky; and Missouri Cooperage in Lebanon, Missouri.
Last October, another US barrel firm, Staggemeyer Stave, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following action taken by its creditors in Minnesota.
The American whiskey industry has been affected by president Donald Trump’s tariffs, which the US Supreme Court ruled illegal last month.
Since the removal of US spirits from shelves in Canada in March 2025, exports to Canada decreased by 70% in 12 months due to tariffs.
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