Using VERY rough math and basing it on the price of 1.75L bottles of Jim Beam, 45k barrels equates to about $112,808,700 in loss.

Using VERY rough math and basing it on the price of 1.75L bottles of Jim Beam, 45k barrels equates to about $112,808,700 in loss.

 

Using VERY rough math and basing it on the price of 1.75L bottles of Jim Beam, 45k barrels equates to about $112,808,700 in loss.

 

I'm assuming the product is actual Jim Beam bourbon, since that's the only name that's been referenced in the news reports I've seen/read. But the Jim Beam company - Beam Suntory - owns several other labels, including Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow, Baker's, Basil Hayden's, Booker's, and Knob Creek. This is located at the Old Crow facility, so it could be less pricey bourbon than Jim Beam, or it could be something higher-shelf like Basil Hayden's, Baker's or Booker's. That would be even more of a doozey when it comes to losses.

Jim Beam has released a statement:

 

“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.”

I'm assuming the product is actual Jim Beam bourbon, since that's the only name that's been referenced in the news reports I've seen/read. But the Jim Beam company - Beam Suntory - owns several other labels, including Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow, Baker's, Basil Hayden's, Booker's, and Knob Creek. This is located at the Old Crow facility, so it could be less pricey bourbon than Jim Beam, or it could be something higher-shelf like Basil Hayden's, Baker's or Booker's. That would be even more of a doozey when it comes to losses.

 

Yep. I just used the "normal" JB product for that. It could get real ugly (well, uglier) depending on what was actually there.

I'm assuming the product is actual Jim Beam bourbon, since that's the only name that's been referenced in the news reports I've seen/read. But the Jim Beam company - Beam Suntory - owns several other labels, including Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow, Baker's, Basil Hayden's, Booker's, and Knob Creek. This is located at the Old Crow facility, so it could be less pricey bourbon than Jim Beam, or it could be something higher-shelf like Basil Hayden's, Baker's or Booker's. That would be even more of a doozey when it comes to losses.

 

It's almost certainly not anything intended for high-end labels. That stuff all comes out of the Booker Noe plant in Boston in Nelson Co. Knob Creek, Baker's, Booker's, Basil. Some of the Knob Creek comes out of Clermont, the way I understand it, and I think a lot of what they do there is for higher-end versions of the Beam label, such as Black, Single Barrel, and I think a lot of the flavored stuff. That stuff aging in Frankfort will likely end up as white label low-rent and perhaps lesser-profile labels. What I read about it is that it was extremely young, meaning it probably had barely taken on any coloring from the barrels.

The Barton rickhouse collapse last year is the most interesting from this standpoint because it put a massive hole in the entire future supply of 1792.

 

Even before that there were always stretches where 1792 Small Batch can be hard to find at local stores. You almost never see the higher-end expressions (Full Proof, Single Barrel, Bottled in Bond, Sweet Wheat, etc.) at liquor stores and generally have to go to the gift shop to find those.

I get the nostalgia and whatnot from these old rick houses, but these companies need to start updating their storage facilities. There's way too much technology available for this to keep happening.

 

They are, old rick houses are being replaced by barrel storage facilities that are modern warehouses with barrels on pallets stacked up. Bartons just built a few and Whittenburg Construction is building a new one every 9 months or less over the next several years for Woodford Reserve. The pallets will hold 9 barrels (3 x 3) and will be stacked 5 or more higher and lined in row after row after row. With the bourbon popularity going on now, the distilleries probably still need the old rick houses but my guess is in a decade, they will have enough modern warehouses that the rock houses will only be used in tourist parts of the distilleries.

The fire was still burning yesterday, and as recently as last night the firefighters' response was to let the fire continue burning in an attempt to burn off any alcohol rather than spraying it with water and creating potential for additional runoff in the Kentucky River. Runoff from the warehouse fire was readily visible in the Kentucky River on Wednesday, and fish kills are already evident.

 

Jim Beam has stated that aerators have been deployed in the river in an attempt to oxygenate the water and help save the aquatic habitat.