More than 40 downtown residents packed Gallery 101 in the Depot building on Water Street Thursday evening to hear Henderson Distilling Company representatives attempt to dispel concerns about a whiskey fungus that, at other distillery locations in the country, has covered nearby buildings and cars.
Some in attendance had filed an appeal of a Henderson-Henderson County Joint Planning commission recommendation for a re-zoning of the 3-plus acres of land on Water Street where investors want to locate the new distillery.
Bill Fidler, one of 13 investors and a member of the company’s board, said the meeting’s goals were to inform about whisky fungus, talk about the “what ifs” the distillery is later sold and to discuss traffic and noise concerns.
Though the latter three topics were discussed, it was whisky fungus—its scientific name, Baudoinia compniacensis—that dominated the conversation.
During whiskey’s aging process, alcohol evaporates, and then this vapor, commonly referred to as the “angel’s share,” escapes through the pores of the barrel. The fungus feeds on the ethanol alcohol vapors in the air. The result is the soot-like residue that can cover nearby houses, cars, road signs and trees.
According to several articles on the web, whisky fungus has covered surfaces of properties near many distilleries, the most well-known of these occurring in Lincoln County, Tenn., where Jack Daniels distilleries are located.
But Henderson Distilling Company representatives emphasized at the meeting that the downtown storehouse will not hold anywhere near the number of barrels that Jack Daniels does. They said that the maximum number of barrels that could be stored on site is between 2,000 to 2,500, but they’d probably end up storing many fewer than that, probably less than 1,000.
A large rickhouse located in the county will be designated for the lion’s share of their barrels, Fidler said.
The number of barrels stored downtown could even go lower, according to some of the back and forth during the meeting. But the downtown location would need to store a certain amount to provide an aesthetic for tourists, said Ben Johnston, president and CEO of Pittsburg Tank & Tower and another investor in the distillery.
The fewer number of barrels is one reason the company’s representatives don’t believe the whiskey fungus will be much, if any, cause of concern to nearby residents.
“We really know there’s not going to be an issue,” Fidler said. “We’re not going to allow it to be an issue in Henderson, Kentucky.”
The developers also invited Dr. Patrick Heist, a microbiologist and a distillery owner in Danville, to discuss his take on whisky fungus. He appeared via Zoom. He started his distillery in downtown Danville and at the outset stored about 300 barrels there.
Heist said there was never “any noticeable growth on any nearby buildings.”
He said, though, there was some small growth around the venting of the distillery building.
He said his distillery, Wilderness Trail, has since moved to a rural location where it stores up to 250,000 barrels. He said it’s a more industrial location with some nearby residences.
“We still have yet to have any complaints from neighbors,” he said.
He also said that whiskey fungus poses no health threats.
Residents, though, remained cautious. One, Bill Latta, lives just south of the CSX railroad bridge less than a football field from the proposed site. He said he’d have to take some time to digest the information presented. He pointed to an abundance of articles found on the internet that document whiskey fungus. His concern, he said, is justified.
“I live right next door and I have a white house,” he said.
Additionally, the Henderson Distilling Company reps provided a written legal agreement after the meeting that would require the company to clean homes if whisky fungus were found on them. If signed, the agreement would be for 10 years from the start of barrels being stored at the location.
Andrew Powell and his wife, Meredith, are the developers of the distillery, which will include the stillhouse, where the current HMP&L transmission and distribution department is located, and another building fronting North Main Street, where the visitor center and tasting room will be located.
Andrew Powell said the business is projected to attract 15,000 tourists each year.
“We want to build a jewel that keeps pushing our downtown in this renaissance we’re having,” he said.
Twelve residents have filed an appeal of the planning commission’s recommendation to the city to approve the re-zoning from a riverfront designation to central business district.
The special called meeting for the Henderson City Commission to hear these concerns will be 5 p.m. Tuesday in the third-floor assembly room of the Municipal Building.
