800K Gallons of KY Whiskey Burn in Fire (Oh, the humanity!)

Yahoo! News - AP ^ | 8.5.03 | Murray Evans

[mhking]

BARDSTOWN, Ky. - The smell of burning whiskey lingered in the air Tuesday as the remnants of a fire that destroyed a warehouse that had held 800,000 gallons of Jim Beam bourbon continued to burn.

The fire was contained, but was expected to burn until at least Thursday. "There's a lot of lumber in there," Fire Chief Anthony Mattingly said.

Emergency officials said a small amount of bourbon found its way into a creek that runs near the charred warehouse, but the environmental effects were expected to be minimal.

About 90 minutes after firefighters arrived Monday, bulldozers were brought in to dam the creek, halting the downstream flow of bourbon, officials said.

"We got some (bourbon) in the river, I'm sure," said Joe Osborne, the director of emergency management for Nelson County. "We think it's very minimal, but we'll have to wait and see."

Agents from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms checked Tuesday for any environmental damage from the fire.

The company said Tuesday that "all initial indications suggest" the fire was caused by lightning. Thunderstorms swept through the area Monday afternoon.

The wooden warehouse, built in 1945, contained 19,000 barrels of aging bourbon. The warehouse is one of four at the site and among 64 owned by Jim Beam. It is one of the company's older warehouses, said Jeff Conder, a plant manager for Jim Beam.

All four warehouses at the site had lightning rods and metal roofs — a change from the original tar roofs many had when first built, Conder said.

None of the other three warehouses at the site was significantly damaged, and the company said the fire destroyed about 2 percent of its aging bourbon inventory.

Conder said the amount of bourbon lost represented less than two weeks worth of production and that the company was fully insured.

The fire was the third in the last seven years at a bourbon warehouse in Kentucky, where more than 95 percent of the world's bourbon is produced.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[b4its2late]

The whole town must be running on fumes.....

[wafflehouse]

aw man, it had to be jim beam too..

[WhiteGuy]

I've never cared for bourbon.

Now if the single malt were burning.............

[dennisw]

Why couln't a white wine warehouse or kaluha warehouse have gone up in smoke instead? Why? Why? Why?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

My condolences on your loss.

[1rudeboy]

If there was justice in this world, then 8 million gallons would have burned.

[StriperSniper]

a small amount of bourbon found its way into a creek that runs near the charred warehouse, but the environmental effects were expected to be minimal.

Tell that to the hungover catfish that puked on the bank!

[norraad]

Which would only be 20% of what they claim to have on hand, 160 million gallon left @ $100/gal= $1.6 billion .

[AppyPappy]

C'mon. It's just Jim Beam.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Hmmm- 800,000 is not really 20% of 160,000,000. Might want to check decimal points...(here are few extra in case you are running shport....................)

[Beck_isright]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[frodolives]

Struck by lighning, eh? What were they up to?

[45semi]

Cause it's midnight in Montgomery
Just hear that whippoorwill
See the stars light up the purple sky
Feel that lonesome chill
When the wind it's right, you'll hear his songs
Smell whiskey in the air
Midnight in Montgomery
He's always singing there...

[ThirdMate]

Moonshine struck by White Lightning!

[Eaker]

Humble is just glad that it wasn't the Zima factory!!!!

Eaker

[Eaker]

[gov_bean_ counter]

LOL, was thinking the same thing...

If this had been a Miller plant, I would be adorned in sackcloth and sitting in a bed of ashes.

[lilylangtree]

Wonder how many Kentuckians are snockered on the fumes?