Whiskey Fungus, Fumes and Rickhouses – fun at Jack Daniels

March 2, 2023June 24, 2024 Harrison Blackwood 0 Comments

Whiskey Fungus is just one of a number of different stories are circulating about Jack Daniels in Lynchburg, in Tennessee, all with some slight contradictions, and none of them seem to have the complete story. All stories claim to be the reason why Jack Daniels has recently had the construction of an additional rickhouse (barrel ageing warehouse) stopped by the local government.

Obviously with our hooks into the global whisky industry, we know the truth, and we’ll share it right here and right now. But let’s start with the rumours.

Jack Daniels Whiskey Fungus

One narrative being that the discovery of whisky fungus (that affects the wood of the building and/or the wood of the casks used to mature the whiskey and/or the whiskey itself) is the reason that the construction of a rickhouse has been suspended while the fungus is investigated.

Whiskey Fungus Takes Over The Town

Possibly the biggest story is the tale that a unique whiskey fungus is taking over the entire town of Lynchburg – and is everywhere because it is being “fed” on the fumes from the angels share evaporating from the Jack Daniel’s rickhouses. Complaints from town residents have resulted in the new rickhouse construction being suspended by the local government.

Old Ladies Getting Drunk On Fumes

One of the stories going around is that construction has been suspended due to complaints from old ladies being drunk on the fumes from the angels share.

You Can’t Handle The Truth

It’s actually much more boring that any of these stories. Yes, there is a fungus issue being complained about in the local town and a few stories seem to think that this has something to do with alcohol. But the science doesn’t stack up to us. High strength alcohol tends to kill things as opposed to feed them. Which is why yeast (a fungus) eventually dies during fermentation. We aren’t scientists but there has never been any wild fungus conspiracy about Jack Daniel’s before 2023.

What there HAS been, is a seasonal fungus on trees (not specific to Tennessee, this happens all over the world) during spring, when everything is colder and wetter. The perfect petri dish for fungus. Sure, 2023 seems to be a bit more fungus around than the previous 10 or 20 years, but to connect that to Jack Daniel’s sounds a bit like disinformation.

The REAL reason is simple. Jack Daniel’s started to build a new rickhouse without getting the correct permits in place. Their excuse that the rickhouse would generate US$1 million a year in property tax, didn’t excuse the fact that most of the developed world has processes and procedures to follow before building anything bigger than a large garden shed, and pretty much all commercial property will need a formal application process before construction starts.