Employees at two plants operated by distiller Jim Beam are off the job after voting to go on strike amid failed contract negotiations.

But the work interruption shouldn't keep bourbon lovers from their favorite beverage, the company said.

As many as 200 Union Food and Commercial Workers Local 111D members at Jim Beam's facilities in Clermont and Boston, Kentucky voted Friday night to go on strike. Union members overwhelmingly rejected a two-year contract proposal that parent company Beam Suntory said included pay raises and other concessions.

The union said its main issues with the company involved the use of agency workers in place of full-time employees, vague contract language, strenuous work hours and an atmosphere of disrespect for union employees.

In a statement provided to the Kentucky Standard, Kevin Smith, vice president of Kentucky Beam Bourbon Affairs at Beam Suntory, said the company is seeking information on why the membership rejected the contract and remains "committed to resolving this matter expeditiously."

Will the bourbon keep flowing?

Despite the strike, company officials said the bourbon will keep flowing as it operates under as yet-unrevealed "contingency plans."

Employees who work at the Jim Beam plant in Frankfort, Kentucky, as well as the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto, Kentucky remain on the job, and some of the work could be shifted to those facilities. Based on existing inventories and work done at the open facilities, the company said it does not expect any shortages of Jim Beam bourbon or other whiskeys made at its plants.

About 95 percent of the world's bourbon comes from Kentucky, with Jim Beam being the biggest producer. Production of the spirit generates some $3 billion annually in the Bluegrass State, generating some 14,500 jobs with an annual payroll of $707 million.