As a whisky fungus engulfs neighboring towns, Tennessee homeowners who live close to Jack Daniels distilleries are attempting to prevent the corporation from constructing additional facilities.
The fungus Baudoinia compniacensis, also referred to as "the angels' share," thrives on alcohol that evaporates during the aging process.
It appears to attach to a wide range of surfaces, including buildings, automobiles, street signs, trees, and patio furniture, New York Post reported.
For those who live close to bourbon, rum, and whisky producers, the antiquated, sticky, black stuff is nothing new.
But Jack Daniel's, owned by Brown-Forman, now has six warehouses — called barrelhouses — in Tennessee's Lincoln County and wants to build more than a dozen in the future.
In January, a woman in Tennessee filed a lawsuit against her local zoning office, trying to prevent the building of 14 more distilleries unless ventilation systems are installed. She claimed that the difficult-to-remove fungus had damaged her nearby property, which included a venue for parties and weddings.
On Mar. 1, the court ordered Jack Daniel's to temporality halt construction.
Residents of Kentucky and even Ontario, Canada, have dealt with similar fungi that they worry pose harmful health and environmental risks.
A spokesperson for Jack Daniel's issued a lengthy statement to The Post.
According to the statement, "During the siting and building process, we worked closely with Lincoln County and provided all information asked of us by local officials, as well as adhered to regulatory requirements, strict industry guidelines, and rigorous internal standards that we follow in building warehouses."
"Anyone who has visited the Jack Daniel Distillery or any other distillery with maturing spirits has likely noticed the presence of microflora," the statement added. "Microflora grows on trees, buildings, and other structures around distilleries and warehouses.
The statement also said that, "Ethanol released from barrels during maturation, also called "the angels' share," is just one of microflora's many food sources."
"More common in warm and humid environments, it is also found in and around areas unrelated to distilling such as food processing companies and bakeries, and dams adjacent to bodies of water," the company continued.
"While we are accustomed to microflora, we appreciate that some may not like how it looks and the inconvenience it may present.
"Based on the information available, we believe it is not harmful to individuals or their property," the statement added.
The statement from Jack Daniel's also addressed the viability of tweaking ventilation.
"As for air filtration technology that has been offered up by some as a solution, it is easy to say but not possible to do," the statement said.
"Barrelhouses require ventilation – and are designed to do so naturally – to allow for the movement of whiskey in and out of new charred oak barrels during the aging process.
"Existing independent and government research shows that there is no reasonably available control technology to prevent ethanol emissions without significantly adversely affecting the taste and quality of Jack Daniel's or any other aged whiskey," the statement concluded.
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