Distillery warehouse fell last year, now 120K gallons spill

BARDSTOWN, Ky. – Roughly 120,000 gallons (454,000 litres) of would-be bourbon have spilled at a Kentucky distillery.

News outlets report two people were injured in the fermented mash spill Tuesday at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, where a storage collapse last year left thousands of barrels in a mountainous heap. They’ve been released from a hospital.

Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesman John Mura says a leg of a 55,000-gallon (208,000-litre) tank gave way and flipped a container holding the mash. He says 10,000 gallons (38,000 litres) ran in a storm drain to a tributary, but officials don’t believe there’s a threat to drinking water.

Amy Preske, a spokeswoman for Barton 1792’s parent company, Sazerac, says they’re working to secure the area.

It’s unclear if operations are resuming as normal Wednesday.