It’s tough to turn on the news these days without seeing a new tragedy. Today is no different. The Barton 1792 Distillery in Kentucky was the site of the most recent incident of alcohol abuse, when on Friday half of its storage warehouse collapsed, destroying 9,000 barrels of bourbon. Since one barrel holds 53 gallons, we can only imagine how much was wasted in the crash. Luckily, no one was inside the warehouse at the time, so there were no injuries — well, no human injuries anyway.
Photo: Emily Maher
9,000 Bourbon Barrels Were Destroyed in a Warehouse Collapse
BREAKING: Crews on scene at a building collapse at @Barton1792. Bardstown Fire Chief says they got the call around 11a. Bourbon barrels are stacked up in the mess. pic.twitter.com/4KeWMeFIun
— Emily Maher (@WLKYEmily) June 22, 2018
Rescue efforts are, however, underway. In a statement, Amy Peske, a spokeswoman for Sazerac (which owns the brand) said, “We are addressing how many of the impacted barrels can be recovered…a mix of various distilled products at various ages were stored in that warehouse.”
While there was also some concern that the spilled bourbon might be running into a nearby creek, water samples have come back clean, alleviating environmental concerns.
The crash will not affect normal operations at the distillery, which expects to be open for tours on Saturday. 
H/T: Thrillist