Hundred Gallons of Whiskey Lost Thanks to Power Outage at Heaven Hill’s Bernheim Distillery

On Monday, WLKY reported that a power outage at the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery in Kentucky caused a loss of a "few hundred gallons" of whiskey. The outlet reported that the outage took place at 9:45 a.m. Monday. When the lights went out, a few hundred gallons of whiskey somehow spilled. During a video segment, the news station shared that the outage caused fire alarms to sound off and the Louisville fire department arrived at the scene. Firefighters determined the power outage was caused by the work of an independent contractor and gave the all-clear at 11 a.m. The spill is being monitored by the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District, and Heaven Hill Director of Kentucky Distillation Conor O’Driscoll says there is "no cause of concern to surrounding neighbors," per WLKY. On Friday , Heaven Hill announced an initiative to tighten its workforce amid what it referred to as a "softness" in the bourbon industry. The parent company behind popular brands like Elijah Craig, Parker's Heritage, Old Fitzgerald, Rittenhouse and more shared that it intended to consolidate certain positions at the distillery and offered what it referred to as "retirement buyouts" to 14 members of its staff.

"While the industry is experiencing softness, Heaven Hill is outperforming its competitors as a whole," Heaven Hill Spokesperson Lauren Newcomb expressed according to WDRB.

The WDRB reported that Heaven Hill responded to pandemic pressures by increasing its workforce after a surge in demand necessitated an increase in staff to meet supply goals. The brand explains the recent reduction in its workforce is simply meant to bring its employees back to pre-pandemic levels. In April , the bourbon brand released Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 25th Anniversary Edition to shed light on a pivotal moment within the distillery's history when a devastating fire took place in November 1996. The fire was reported to have leaped from warehouse to warehouse due to 70-mph winds, and an 18-inch deep burning river of bourbon flowed during the blaze. Though the damage could have easily spelled the end for the bourbon brand, Heaven Hill recovered, with the help of Jim Beam and Brown-Forman. Fortunately, this latest incident was a significantly milder loss for the brand. [botmc-promo]