Rest of whiskey storage warehouse collapse in Kentucky

Barrels of whiskey were squeezed into a mountainous heap on Wednesday after the rest of a whiskey storage warehouse collapsed in Kentucky, almost two weeks after part of the structure of several decades has collapsed. the 1792 Barton Distillery in Bardstown, said Nelson County Emergency Management Spokesman Milt Spalding. He said, "It's a mountain of bourbon casks," he said on Wednesday.

Environment and wildlife officials were on the scene to determine if a whiskey had been spilled in a nearby water course. he said. The owner of Sazerac Distillery, a Louisiana-based spirits company, was already facing a state fine arising from the initial collapse.

In a statement, the company said its employees "were working quickly to contain the spill". the new runoff has entered the streams.

After the initial collapse of last month, the company said the damaged warehouse contained about 18,000 barrels of aging spirits. Up to half the barrels inside were hit by the first collapse, he said.

The company said at the time that the collapse had affected "a mix of various products distilled at various ages." On Wednesday, he said he knew how many barrels can be recovered or what caused the initial collapse.

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

After the first collapse, a spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Energy and Environment said that Sazerac would be quoted for having failed to report the spill of whiskey in a timely manner and to pollute the waters. The spokesman said that Barton 1792 acted quickly to prevent alcohol from entering the creek but did not adequately warn the state.

Whiskey flowing into a stream and river killed about 800 fish after the initial collapse. Bardstown is about 40 miles south of Louisville.

Nelson County Emergency Management Director Joe Prewitt said last month that he did not remember another collapse of a whiskey warehouse. Sazerac is also the owner of the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky

Kentucky's bourbon industry is currently booming by more than $ 1.1 billion with expanded production facilities, new warehouses and new centers tourist. Kentucky distillers have aged more than 6.6 million bourbon casks, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association.