June 22 (UPI) -- Part of a bourbon warehouse collapsed in Kentucky on Friday, causing 9,000 barrels of alcohol to crash to the ground, local emergency officials said.
The collapse happened just after 11 a.m. at Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Ky. The warehouse, one of several buildings on the distillery's 192-acre site, holds about 20,000 barrels of aging bourbon.
Nelson County Dispatch Director Milton Spalding said it's unclear what caused the collapse.
"It was just a regular kind of morning with light rain, cloudy skies," he said. "... So we're not sure what triggered it."
Emergency officials and Environmental Protection Agency representatives were trying to determine whether any of the alcohol spilled and potentially contaminated local waterways. The distillery is located near the Beech Fork River.
"Right now, everything looks good," Spalding said.
"Of course, there was the smell of bourbon in the air, but that's kind of common in the warehouse facility, anyway," he added.
Barton 1792 Distillery is owned by Sazerac, which is based in New Orleans and also owns Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort.
