Fungus forces Jack Daniel's to halt building project

Washington, March 2

A building project of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, owned by Louisville-based company Brown-Forman, has been forced to halt after a resident of the area argued that she was facing a "plague of whiskey fungus" caused by escaping alcohol vapours, a media report said.

The fungus, which consumes ethanol fumes, grows on surfaces near bakeries and distilleries around the world, the BBC report said.

The complainant, Christi Long, of Lincoln County, Tennessee, has claimed that her property was coated in the fungus, which appears as a black crust on surfaces.

It is a growing issue for people in the area, Jason Holleman, a lawyer representing Long, told the BBC.

He said that whiskey companies often speak about the evaporation process -- dubbed "the angels' share" -- without mentioning the resulting mould that comes with it.

"If you go on one of these distillery tours they will tell you about the angels' share that goes into the atmosphere. And unfortunately that also results in the devil's fungus," Holleman told the BBC.

Long, who runs an events venue next to several Jack Daniels warehouses, including one under construction, has alleged that the invading fungus has required her to spend thousands on power washing.

She is suing the local county zoning office, arguing it did not properly approve permits for the warehouses.

Some infuriated locals are now calling for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey to install air filters to combat the problem.

In a court order, Lincoln County Chancellor J.B. Cox instructed Lincoln County zoning officials to order construction to be halted after he ruled that the permitting process was never fully completed.

In its response, Brown-Forman spokeswoman Elizabeth Conway told the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper: "We respect the chancellor's ruling and look forward to working with Lincoln County on updated permits.

"The Jack Daniel Distillery will continue to comply with regulations and industry standards regarding the design, construction, and permitting of our barrelhouses in Lincoln Co."

Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey was founded in Moore County, which neighbours Lincoln County, in 1866.

The fungus, named Baudoinia compniacensis, is named after the director of the French Distillers' Association that discovered it growing near cognac distilleries in the 1870s, the BBC reported.

It has led to complaints and lawsuits from Scotland to Canada and the Caribbean.