When whiskey is aged in oak barrels, a small percentage of the overall volume is lost due to evaporation. They call this the Angel's Share—booze released to the heavens, ascending to serve a higher purpose. After this weekend, any angels keeping watch over the good people of Kentucky must be partying up there like never before.
Last week, thousands of barrels of whiskey came crashing down to earth at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. Something gave at a storage warehouse, home to over 20,000 barrels, bringing down nearly half of the building in the process. About 9,000 barrels fell (although not all were necessarily destroyed). And with about 53 gallons in each cask, that's a lot of booze gone before its time.
The costs go beyond empty tumblers and un-mixed Old Fashioneds. WLKY reports that the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet plans to cite the distillery's parent company, Sazerac, "for failing to report the spill in a timely manner and for polluting the waters of the commonwealth"—a citation that can, and likely will, lead to fines. A "fair amount" of whiskey and other spirits lost in the spill entered a nearby creek and killed 800 small fish.
However, all is not lost. According to Barton 1972 spokeswoman Amy Preske, the collapse will not affect production, nor tours at the distillery, reports the Lexington Herald Leader.
So by all means, mourn. Mix a bourbon cocktail. But please, don't pour one out. We've already lost enough.
From: Esquire US