Daniel Bach

For fans, it was a bittersweet final broadcast of The Late Show, which was canceled after a 33-year run.

Journal media reporter Isabella Simonetti says it marks the end of an era for late-night television.

To close out the show, Colbert was joined in the Ed Sullivan Theatre by Paul McCartney, the site of the Beatles' first performance on American television.

Joined by the show's band and former bandleader John Batiste, they performed the Beatles' song Hello Goodbye.

Coming up, Kentucky's bourbon distilleries are stacked with barrels of unsold whiskey amidst a slowdown hitting the U.S.

booze industry.

That story after the break.

Kentucky is the heartland of America's bourbon industry, home to 125 licensed distilleries, the most since Prohibition was repealed in the 1930s.

With a cocktail craze that kicked off around 2010 and people stocking up their bars during the pandemic, things were booming.

But a mix of inflation, trade wars, and more people choosing not to drink alcohol has dramatically changed things for the U.S.

drinks industry.

Journal reporter Laura Cooper covers the sector.

Laura, obviously there's Tennessee whiskey, rye, single malts, lots of whiskey made across the United States.

But for your story, you focused on Kentucky, where 95% of the world's bourbon is made.

Give us a sense of how the state's been hit by a slowdown in booze sales.

And how much is this impacting the major players?

These are storied companies.

Tell us a little bit about how existential this is for them.

The Journal has reported on a number of potential mergers in the sector led by your reporting.

Is that pressure on the industry driving this talk around mergers and acquisitions, picking up a good deal or being able just to stay alive?