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1 Million Gallons Of Bourbon Destroyed In Warehouse Collapse

1 Million Gallons Of Bourbon Destroyed In Warehouse Collapse


A bourbon aging warehouse for a distillery in Kentucky collapsed on Wednesday, just two weeks after a different section of the warehouse came down.

Warehouse 30 for Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, was having a portion of its wall repaired when one side of the building came down on June 22nd, dumping an estimated 9,000 barrels of bourbon into nearby creeks. Each barrel contains 53 gallons of bourbon, or 200 liters, with an estimated total volume of 1.8 million liters of bourbon.

When the remaining portion of the building came down on Wednesday, July 4th, residents in Bardstown were told not to release fireworks in celebration of Independence Day as the bourbon poses a fire hazard. The cause of both collapses is currently unknown, however no injuries were reported in either incidents. The distillery’s parent company, Sazerac Inc, is facing fines of up to $25,000 per day.

Bourbon has leaked into local creeks, and it is estimated that more than 1,000 fish have died due to contaminated waters. Water tests from the initial incident came back clean, however subsequent tests showed that the bourbon had seeped into waterways.

The barrels from the incident on June 22nd are still on the ground, as removing in tact barrels posed safety concerns for workers. It is estimated that there were a total of 18,000 barrels in the warehouse, however it is currently unknown how many of these barrels are salvageable.