"It is a mountain of bourbon barrels": Rest of whiskey storage warehouse collapses in Kentucky

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

By Bruce Schreiner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Whiskey barrels were piled in a mountainous heap Wednesday after the rest of a whiskey storage warehouse collapsed in Kentucky, nearly two weeks after part of the decades-old structure came crashing down.

The remainder of the massive structure collapsed at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Nelson County Emergency Management spokesman Milt Spalding said. No injuries were reported in either collapse, he said.

"It is a mountain of bourbon barrels," he said Wednesday.

Environmental and wildlife officials were on the scene to determine if any whiskey spilled into a nearby waterway, he said. The distillery owner Sazerac, a Louisiana-based spirits company, already was facing a state fine stemming from the initial collapse.

FULL story at link below photo.



Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/trending/it-is-a-mountain-of-bourbon-barrels-rest-of-whiskey/article_7784e335-a614-55fc-a37d-df1061510edc.html

[irisblue]

1. Wow.

Whatta mess. Whatta loss to whiskey & bourban drinkers

[Aristus]

2. I had a tumbler of nice, smooth bourbon last night.

Guess I'll have to slow down a little until the loss is made up. Otherwise, I'll be paying sky-high prices for it...

[pangaia]

5. I had a mint julep laty night-- made with Bulleit..

[BumRushDaShow]

16. I actually have a bottle of that in my cabinet

but haven't cracked it open yet.

Since it has been so hot, I made some frosty pina coladas yesterday (adult and kid versions). Should try a mint julep before summer is gone (have mint growing outside too).

[pangaia]

23. My first time tasting Bulleit and I loved it.. smooth, sweet, just rolls down...

[BumRushDaShow]

25. I had researched last year to find something beyond the common stuff

and that one kept coming up on top in reviews.

[pangaia]

26. I also like BOOKERS... I would say,, a little sharper..little extra sting as it burns it's way down.

But still full and delish..

[BumRushDaShow]

27. A little something that's needed every time I read LBN nowadays.

[EricJohnson]

10. Nothing better than a rye Manhattan, up.

[Aristus]

12. Isn't that what's called a Ward 8?

A New York Sour is also good...

[EricJohnson]

30. No, a Ward 8 has lemon and orange juice. A real Manhattan is rye,

sweet vermouth and bitters, with a sour cherry or two.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Kentucky has 6.6 million barrels in the pipeline

Fortunately.

[House of Roberts]

28. I understand that retaliation for Trump tariffs

may cause consumption to drop in the EU, leaving more domestic spirits available. Don't over-imbibe!

[Frustratedlady]

3. This could become a real tourist attraction if the barrels leaked into the river.

They could open a bar on the banks. Oh, Happy Fish!

[zipplewrath]

19. Except for the 800 that died

Apparently after the first collapse, there was significant leakage into a nearby creek. They're claiming 800 fish were killed.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Let me guess: less government regulations, right?

Especially OSHA if workers were in the building during the collapse.

[sandensea]

20. +1

These Heritage Foundation types want to take us back to 19th century conditions - whiskey and all.

[ChiTownDenny]

6. Shocking!

I'm sure insurance will cover losses, which comes in handy considering all the tariffs being applied to Kentucky bourbon.

[WhiteTara]

9. yes, isn't it handy. nt

[Nay]

11. Very handy, indeed . . .

[MontanaMama]

7. Hope some of the barrels are salvageable.

Also hope the nearby creek is bourbon free.

[Lochloosa]

8. No injuries were reported in either collapse

What about the bourbon?

[Maraya1969]

13. There's no liquid on the concrete. It looks like the barrels are intact.

[csziggy]

22. The concrete or asphalt is uphill from the collapsed building

This shot, from a different angle shows that the ground slopes down from that road so liquid would have run away from it. Plus, it's been really hot recently so alcohol might have evaporated completely from a hot paved surface.

[Sneederbunk]

15. How do we volunteer for cleanup crew?

[LakeSuperiorView]

17. I have a bottle of 1792 sitting in the cabinet.

Looks like I'll need to nurse it...

[dembotoz]

18. so how incompetent was the company to allow its storage to get so bad

[Mosby]

32. someone screwed up

But this wasn't storage, it was an aging facility, and different companies use different types of buildings to age their whiskey. The entire process is proprietary, some distillers use concrete buildings and some use tin "sheds" like this one. During the three year (or more) aging process the kegs are rotated from top to bottom, which allows the whiskey to develop at different Temps in the kegs. The ultimate flavor of a whiskey is largely determined by the way it was aged, and the charring of the keg.

Little know fact is that scotch,tequila and cognac makers use used bourbon casks to age their product. Turns out that American white oak is better than the French stuff.

[Javaman]

21. This is a county-wide alert: the deer population is drunk. repeat the deer population is drunk...

and they aren't happy drunks.

[Historic NY]

29. Sad.....

I'd like a few barrels for decoration.

[htuttle]

31. I suppose that's one way to deal with the tariffs

Not sure if this is more or less suspicious than a big fire would have been.

[dflprincess]

33. Oh the humanity! nt