State and national news organizations are reporting a major fire at two Jim Beam bourbon barrel warehouses on McCracken Pike in Woodford County near the Franklin County line.
Officials are reporting that the fire started in one warehouse and spread to the other.
Image captured from WKYT video
Cause was apparently a lightning strike at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Bluegrass Emergency Response Team from Lexington took foam to the scene.
Reports said about 45,000 barrels of bourbon were destroyed.
Jim Beam released the following statement:
We are thankful that no one was injured in this incident, and we are grateful to the courageous firefighters from multiple jurisdictions who brought the fire under control and prevented it from spreading. Initial reports suggest the fire resulted from a lightning strike, and we will work with local authorities to confirm the cause and to remediate the impacts.
We have a comprehensive warehouse safety program that includes regular inspections and rigorous protocols to promote safety and the security of our aging inventory. We operate 126 barrel warehouses in Kentucky that hold approximately 3.3 million barrels for our brands, and the warehouse that was destroyed contained 45,000 barrels of relatively young whiskey from the Jim Beam mash bill. Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for consumers.
We appreciate the support of our neighbors and the Kentucky Bourbon community as we manage through this incident.
