Tragedy

[lxskllr]

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.

In a statement, the company said its employees "worked quickly to contain the spill" Wednesday, with none of the new runoff entering any waterways.

After the initial collapse last month, the company said the damaged warehouse had held about 18,000 barrels of aging spirits. Up to half the barrels inside were affected by the first collapse, it said.

The company said at the time that the collapse had affected "a mix of various distilled products at various ages." On Wednesday, it said it did not know how many barrels can be salvaged or what caused the initial collapse.

Cleanup crews have been at the scene for days, and the company called in "more resources" after the second collapse, Spalding said Wednesday. The warehouse was built in the 1940s.

Following the first collapse, a Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesman said Sazerac would be cited for failing to report the spill of whiskey in a timely manner and for polluting waters. The spokesman said Barton 1792 moved quickly to stop the alcohol from entering the creek but didn't alert the state quickly enough.

Whiskey flowing into a nearby stream and river killed about 800 fish after the initial collapse, officials said. Bardstown is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Louisville.

Nelson County Emergency Management director Joe Prewitt said last month he couldn't recall another whiskey warehouse collapse.

Bourbon ages for years in charred new oak barrels, where it acquires its color and flavor.

Sazerac also owns Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Kentucky's bourbon sector is in the midst of a more than $1.1 billion boom that includes expanded production facilities, more storage warehouses and new tourism centers. Kentucky distillers have more than 6.6 million bourbon barrels aging, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association.

https://www.armstrongmywire.com/new...whiskey_storage_warehouse_collapses_in_ken-ap

 

[highland145]

How do I get a job on the clean up crew?

 

[IronWing]

https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...ky-bourbon-disasters-through-years/726491002/

The Wild Turkey fire was a major ecological disaster, killing hundreds of thousands of fish including paddlefish which had been thought to be extinct from the Kentucky River.

 

[IronWing]

Jim Beam

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Whiskey flowing into a nearby stream and river killed about 800 fish after the initial collapse...

Fish soaked in bourbon, I bet I could come up with a good recipe for using them.

 

[nakedfrog]

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Jim Beam

You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road...

 

[BoomerD]

Bourbon? No loss. That shit is nasty and shouldn’t be drunk by anyone...at least anyone who doesn’t call his sister “mom.”





When I was just a youngster, I “enjoyed” two fifths of “Bourbon Supreme.” Nearly killed me. To this day, just the smell of Bourbon or bourbon-types of whiskey (Jack, I’m lookin at you!) I want to puke.

 

[Darwin333]

https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...ky-bourbon-disasters-through-years/726491002/

The Wild Turkey fire was a major ecological disaster, killing hundreds of thousands of fish including paddlefish which had been thought to be extinct from the Kentucky River.

At least they went with a damn good buzz.

 

[Darwin333]

Fish soaked in bourbon, I bet I could come up with a good recipe for using them.

Inside and out no less.

 

[zinfamous]

I heard the report and the description of this on the radio yesterday, and had no idea what was going on or what kind of picture I should be forming in my head. Now, I get it. Thanks, OP!

 

[IronWing]

I guess W.C. Fields can't drink whiskey now.

 

[Carson Dyle]

That was the second half of the building that first collapsed a couple of weeks ago. They were supposedly going to shore up the remaining half to keep it from falling. I guess they didn't do a very good job.

It was more impressive looking when half the building remained standing.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Bourbon? No loss. That shit is nasty and shouldn’t be drunk by anyone...at least anyone who doesn’t call his sister “mom.”





When I was just a youngster, I “enjoyed” two fifths of “Bourbon Supreme.” Nearly killed me. To this day, just the smell of Bourbon or bourbon-types of whiskey (Jack, I’m lookin at you!) I want to puke.

So a stupid kid drank too much cheap shit, got sick and it's bourbon's fault. Got it.

 

[Vindris]

Looks like they're still offering tours...

http://www.1792distillery.com/

 

[lxskllr]

Looks like they're still offering tours...

http://www.1792distillery.com/

They should have a PYO barrel sale. Get that cleaned up in no time.

 

[KeithTalent]

Bourbon? No loss. That shit is nasty and shouldn’t be drunk by anyone...at least anyone who doesn’t call his sister “mom.”

When I was just a youngster, I “enjoyed” two fifths of “Bourbon Supreme.” Nearly killed me. To this day, just the smell of Bourbon or bourbon-types of whiskey (Jack, I’m lookin at you!) I want to puke.

Sounds like user error.

KT

 

[BoomerD]

So a stupid kid drank too much cheap shit, got sick and it's bourbon's fault. Got it.

Exactly...now you got it.

Sounds like user error.

KT

Yeah, really can’t argue with that...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Lol dang that sucks. Apparently they underestimated just how heavy all those barrels would be when they built that.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Looks like they're still offering tours...

http://www.1792distillery.com/

The barrel storage buildings are off by themselves. The collapse of one isn't going to upset their booze tourism business.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8119334,-85.4784496,1274a,35y,200.57h,28.8t/data=!3m1!1e3

I think I'd be more than just a little bit worried if I lived in one of these houses.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8083661,-85.4807491,233a,35y,193.02h,23.17t/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[Carson Dyle]

Lol dang that sucks. Apparently they underestimated just how heavy all those barrels would be when they built that.

They have a couple dozen more buildings exactly like it. Back when the original collapse happened, I thought I read somewhere that one had been undergoing some repairs when it failed.

 

[SKORPI0]

45 photos..

Aerial photos of complete collapse at Barton's 1792 bourbon warehouse

 

[IronWing]

I guess that warehouse wasn't barrel-proof.

 

[ultimatebob]

You should think that a lot of those barrels would have survived. Hell... they were originally built to survive cross country ocean voyages over rough seas. Sure, the ones on the bottom are screwed, but the ones on top just became a "limited/reserve" vintage

 

[Carson Dyle]

You should think that a lot of those barrels would have survived. Hell... they were originally built to survive cross country ocean voyages over rough seas. Sure, the ones on the bottom are screwed, but the ones on top just became a "limited/reserve" vintage

They've already said that they'll recover any undamage barrels and place them into storage again. I''d bet that's the majority of them.