Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What Is Whiskey Fungus and Why Is It Taking Over These Tennessee Counties?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • What Is Whiskey Fungus and Why Is It Taking Over These Tennessee Counties?

    Ask a Whiskey Pro: What Is Whiskey Fungus and Why Is It Taking Over These Tennessee Counties?

    In early March, reports from Lincoln County, Tenn., emerged of a dark, soot-like film coating outdoor surfaces from houses to cars to trees. Known as whiskey fungus, or Baudoinia compniacensis, the mold — which originated at the Jack Daniel’s distillery — has been growing seemingly out of control in the immediate area surrounding the distillery, causing strife between the whiskey producer and local residents.
    In an interview with The New York Times, Christi Long, owner of the event space Manor at ShaeJo, said that the fungus has consumed the roof and walls of the mansion as well as the rock garden, gates, and branches of the ground’s trees. She revealed that despite the fact that she and her husband power wash the coating every three months, it constantly grows back.
    To learn more about whiskey fungus and the specifics on the situation in Lincoln County, VinePair tapped whiskey pro Jose Guzman, bar manager of NYC’s Flatiron Room.
    “Just like us, whiskey fungus loves to be around whiskey and grows wherever there’s whiskey aging,” Guzman explains. “It thrives off the alcohol lost during the aging process known as angel’s share. As the fumes come out of the whiskey and evaporate, they not only lose 1–2 percent of the barrel, but they attract this strain of fungus.”
    As described by Guzman, whiskey fungus can grow naturally wherever there are spirits aging — though luckily, it has no impact on the spirits themselves as the casks are sealed tight. The mold can only reach the angel’s share, which evaporates out of the cask, hence why the fungus tends to grow on external surfaces.

    Read the rest of this article on Vinepair
    Cheers!
    Banjo Bandolas
    Probrewer.com
    v- 541-284-5500
    banjo@probrewer.com
Working...
X