Jack Daniel's barrel houses are causing an out-of-control black 'whiskey fungus' in a Tennessee community, enraged residents say
Courtesy of Patrick Long
- Residents in Lincoln County are fed up with the black fungus covering their homes and cars.
- The stubborn "whiskey fungus" feeds on ethanol vapor from the Jack Daniel's barrel houses.
- Locals are demanding an air-filtration system and an environmental impact study.
The sooty black mold smothers homes, porches, and cars, locals say. It obscures street signs, and coats the leaves and bark of trees. It cements itself to any stationary object, and it makes residents question the safety of the air they breathe.
An out-of-control black "whiskey fungus," known as Baudoinia compniacensis, fueled by ethanol vapor from the Jack Daniel's facilities, has been a menace to locals in Lincoln County, Tennessee, ever since the famous liquor company started building six new barrel houses in 2018 and launched plans to build 14 more, locals say. Now, infuriated residents are demanding the company and the county answer for the damage and sinking property values, and to prove the ethanol-filled air is safe to breathe.
Patrick Long, who lives just adjacent to the Jack Daniel's barrel houses, and whose wife, Christi, filed a lawsuit against Lincoln County, told Insider the community has two main demands: an air-filtration system that could block the ethanol emissions and stunt the growth of the fungus, and an environmental impact study evaluating the amount of ethanol emanating from the barrel houses and any health risks it poses.
"I'm extremely concerned. My wife has breathing problems. One of the neighbors got cancer," Long said. "It's in the air. And you really, probably don't want to be breathing that in. But nobody has done a test to determine if it's actually poisonous."
Long said the six existing barrel houses mean he has to spend roughly $10,000 per year power-washing his house with a potent mixture of water and Clorox. He also said local officials have given up trying to clean the fungus-covered street signs and simply replace them when they become too blackened to be legible.
"If you have any decent nails on you and you rode it down the side of a tree or a property within a quarter of a mile to a half mile of these barrel houses, your entire finger will be covered in black fungus," Long said. "You can't see the tree limbs anymore. Our house, we have to have it pressure washed four times a year now."
He said said he has alerted federal Environmental Protection Agency officials, which declined Insider's request for comment on "potential or ongoing enforcement activities or investigations."
Christi Long's recent lawsuit against Lincoln County's Board of Planning and Zoning demands the county issue a stop work order to halt construction at Jack Daniel's, alleging the company illegally built the facilities and lacks proper site-plan approval and building permits.
Lincoln County did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. But at a public hearing late last year covered by the Moore County News, Jack Daniel's official Melvin Keebler expressed sympathy to one resident who complained about her Stage 4 lung cancer and requested an air-filtration system. Keebler said the company already monitors its air quality and said the existing air filtration technology is for wineries and not whiskey and bourbon facilities.
A Jack Daniel's spokesperson told Insider the company could not comment on pending litigation but that Jack Daniel's "complies with all local, state, and federal regulations regarding the design, construction, and permitting of our barrel houses. We are dedicated to protecting the environment and the safety and health of our employees and neighbors."
The 'angel's share' of the whiskey feeds the fungus
Courtesy of Patrick Long
The fungus was first identified in 2007 by researchers who found the "angel's share" of distilled spirits was responsible for the black gunk.
Kentucky homeowners filed class-action lawsuits against several Louisville distilleries in 2012, though they were eventually dismissed. And residents in Ontario, Canada, have filed an ongoing class-action lawsuit against owners of the Hiram Walker distillery in Lakeshore.
Long said when he and his wife first moved into their Lynchburg property in 2020, they were aware of the fungus and considered it minimal. But at the time, Jack Daniel's only had two barrel houses in the area. Now, the company has six, and is on track for 20.
Attorney Jason Holleman, who is representing the Longs, told Insider a judge is expected to make a decision within days on whether to force the county to issue a stop work order for the new facilities.
"When we began to look at this, it appeared that they had neither site plan approval, nor building permits for any of the structures."