Thousands of bourbon barrels spill from collapsed warehouse in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Part of a bourbon warehouse at a Bardstown distillery collapsed Friday morning, sending thousands of bourbon barrels spilling out of the building.

About 9,000 of the roughly 20,000 barrels held in the affected warehouse at Barton 1792 Distillery were involved in the collapse, reported just before 11 a.m., according to Nelson County Dispatch Director Milton Spalding.

No one was injured, but officials are investigating if any of the barrels are leaking Kentucky’s signature spirit into the ground or waterways.

The distillery property abuts Beech Fork River, and fires at distilleries in the past have caused the water to become contaminated, officials said. Alcohol floating on the surface of the water has also caught fire.

Spalding responded to the distillery in Bardstown, about 60 miles southeast of Louisville, but couldn’t see whether there was damage to the barrels, which lay amid the rubble of the building.

“Of course, there was the smell of bourbon in the air, but that’s kind of common in the warehouse facility, anyway,” he said.

Barton bourbon is owned by the New Orleans-based Sazerac Co., which also owns the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. Barton 1792 Distillery, established in 1879, is the oldest fully operating distillery in Bardstown, according to its website.

Kentucky distilleries are aging a total of 6.8 million bourbon barrels, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association.

Engineers were on site Friday to secure the remaining warehouse structure and contain what was involved in the collapse. The Environmental Protection Agency was also there to evaluate any impact the spill had on the warehouse surroundings. Initial water samples came back clean.

Officials have yet to announce what caused the collapse.

“It was just a regular kind of morning with light rain, cloudy skies,” Spalding said. “So we’re not sure what triggered it.”

The warehouse was built on a concrete foundation and had a wooden structure with aluminum siding, Spalding said.

It’s one of 29 barrel-aging warehouses on the distillery’s 196 acres, which also feature 22 other buildings, including a still house. The distillery employed 392 full-time employees in 2017, according to a Kentucky incentives database.

Kim Huston, president of the Nelson County Economic Development Agency, said the warehouse had stood on the property for decades.

Spalding wasn't aware of the last time the warehouse was inspected and referred questions to the company. A spokeswoman did not respond to questions from the Courier Journal about the extent of the damage or whether other warehouses on the property were being inspected.

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