A fire at a Jim Beam bourbon facility in Kentucky ruined about 45,000 barrels, potentially destroying hundreds of millions of dollars of alcohol.
The spirits that went up in flames were "relatively young whiskey," parent company Beam Suntory said in an email. "Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for consumers."
The company did not specify a financial loss. The spirits maker operates 126 warehouses in Kentucky that hold approximately 3.3 million barrels, meaning the loss represents about 1.4% of its product in the state. Any losses were insured, a spokeswoman for the company said.
Two warehouses caught fire late Tuesday, one of which was destroyed, according to Drew Chandler, the Woodford County Emergency Management Director. Damage to the second warehouse was contained to an external structure, Chandler said. A couple of barrels were left among the rubble of the burned structure, but none will be suitable for human consumption, he said.
Comment: The original story: Giant asteroid contains enough heavy metals to make everyone on Earth a billionaire - and NASA is heading there in 2022