Huge fire destroys Jim Beam rickhouse

A Jim Beam rickhouse containing around 45,000 barrels of whiskey burned to the ground on Wednesday.

The fire broke out on Tuesday evening and was extinguished by Wednesday afternoon and the distiller has hired an emergency environmental cleanup crew to deal with the situation.

John Mura, a spokesman for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, believes the leaked whiskey will have contaminated the Kentucky River.

"We do know there has been run-off enter the creek," said Mura. "And it has made its way into the Kentucky River."

The destroyed barrels account for around 1% of Jim Beam’s inventory and the liquid was too young to be bottled, however the damages are likely to acound for up to $45m.

No injuries have been reported and while the cause of the fire is currently unknown, the incident shouldn’t have an impact on the brand’s supply chain.