Understanding the Stubborn Nature of Whiskey Fungus
The Story
Whiskey fungus, scientifically known as Baudoinia compniacensis, is a dark sooty mold that thrives on the ethanol vapors released as spirits age, the loss distillers call the angel's share.
It coats buildings, trees, fences, and cars near distilleries and aging warehouses in a persistent black film.
Despite its alarming look, researchers stress the fungus is harmless, noting millions of people across Kentucky, Tennessee, Canada, France, Scotland, Ireland, and Japan have lived near it without ill effects.
Its real trouble is stubbornness, since it grows back on warehouse surfaces and cannot be practically removed, only prevented by choosing where facilities sit.
To contain it, producers are building remote maturation sites on large rural parcels, including Diageo's more than 600 contiguous acres in Shelby County.
The mold became a legal and community flashpoint when Tennessee residents near Jack Daniel's warehouses sued over its spread, leading a court to temporarily halt new aging construction.
It coats buildings, trees, fences, and cars near distilleries and aging warehouses in a persistent black film.
Despite its alarming look, researchers stress the fungus is harmless, noting millions of people across Kentucky, Tennessee, Canada, France, Scotland, Ireland, and Japan have lived near it without ill effects.
Its real trouble is stubbornness, since it grows back on warehouse surfaces and cannot be practically removed, only prevented by choosing where facilities sit.
To contain it, producers are building remote maturation sites on large rural parcels, including Diageo's more than 600 contiguous acres in Shelby County.
The mold became a legal and community flashpoint when Tennessee residents near Jack Daniel's warehouses sued over its spread, leading a court to temporarily halt new aging construction.
Why It Matters
The fungus has outlasted every legal fix. Christi Long's 2023 stop work order against Lincoln County paused a new Jack Daniel's barrelhouse, yet Fortune reports the company won retroactive approvals, leaving six warehouses beside her venue and the Longs spending about $10,000 a year on pressure washing. In Kentucky the fight moved to the ledger: House Bill 5 passed the House 58 to 39 in March 2023 to phase out the bourbon barrel tax, and Loretto's city commissioner told lawmakers his town would keep only "the blanket of black mold" and Maker's Mark trucks, per the Kentucky Lantern. The phase out started in 2026; watch whether counties losing revenue revive the rickhouse moratorium Nelson County tried in 2023.
Go Deeper
Read the original reporting at The Whiskey Wash.
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