5 of History’s Biggest Whisky Distilling Disasters
Unlike some other spirits out there (yes, I’m looking at you, gin!) whisky has had a turbulent and storied past. While the business is now thankfully in a much better place than it was a century ago, it’s not been an easy ride.
I love being in a distillery. I love taking a look around, I love watching my beloved whisky being made, I love the sights, I love the sounds, and I love the smells. Without distilleries, there would be no whisky industry, so for that, I’m eternally grateful.
As amazing as distilleries are, they can also be dangerous places. Thankfully, past experience, combined with modern health and safety practices, means distilleries are much safer than they were centuries ago. Back then, fires, accidents, and even deaths in whisky distilleries were not uncommon, and sadly, a number of distilleries across the world experienced tragedies that would go down in history.
For today’s blog, I thought I’d go with a more sombre topic and look at some of the biggest whisky distilling disasters in history.
The “Cursed” Distillery of Banff
Talk to anybody about whisky distillery disasters, and 99% of the time, one of the first distilleries they’ll mention is Banff.
Banff Distillery, which was found in picturesque Aberdeenshire, is considered by many to be one of the unluckiest distilleries ever founded. The distillery experienced multiple fires, with the first one happening in 1877. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the distillery was up and running six months later, with owner James Simpson even having his own on-site fire engine on standby just in case.
The distillery, like many others, suffered massively during the First and Second World Wars and was forced to close multiple times. It was even bombed by the Germans in 1941, with one of the warehouses being targeted. Whisky reportedly leaked from the exploded barrels into the nearby waterways, causing cows and other livestock to become drunk after drinking the water.
In 1959 a portion of the distillery exploded and in 1983, the owners decided to give it up as a bad job and ceased production before demolishing the distillery. Even while partly demolished, the distillery’s “curse” kept biting, as what was left of the distillery again burned down in 1991.
The Cheapside Whisky Explosion
As delicious as whisky is, it’s pungent stuff and has a real kick to it, especially cask strength. Due to its high alcohol content, it’s flammable and can be very volatile. You wouldn’t want to go near it with a lit match put it that way. Unfortunately, in 1960, a distillery in Glasgow found out just how volatile whisky could be.
On the 28th of March, 1960, the Cheapside Street Whisky bond fire occurred, sadly resulting in the deaths of 19 individuals in total.
A bonded warehouse owned by Arbuckle, Smith, and Company, housing more than 1 million litres of spirit (rum and whisky) caught fire on its second floor. The fire quickly spread and as it reached the wooden casks of spirit, it caused an enormous explosion which caused the building to collapse and neighbouring buildings to set alight. It took over a week to put the blaze out.
The explosion was the largest British Fire Service disaster outside of the two World Wars and tragically claimed the lives of 14 firefighters and 5 Glasgow Salvage Corps personnel. It was a true catastrophe and is one which we still talk about in the whisky industry.
The Wild Turkey Kentucky River Incident
It isn’t just the Scottish distilleries that have seen their fair share of tragedies over the years, as you’re about to find out.
In the same year that we welcomed in a new millennium, the year 2000 also saw one of Wild Turkey Bourbon’s warehouses catch fire, with devastating consequences. The fire blazed through the seven-story warehouse, resulting in a wildfire breaking out in the woodland next to the distillery, and the loss of close to 18,000 barrels of whiskey.
It wasn’t just the woodland that was affected however, as the whiskey also found its way into the Kentucky River. Unfortunately, more than 228,000 fish died and the local water treatment plant was even forced to temporarily close down, with water restrictions being put in place.
Needless to say, the Kentucky locals were hardly enamoured with the distillery, though Wild Turkey did try to make amends by donating more than $250,000 to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Kilchoman Distillery Fire
Our next story takes us from Kentucky to Islay, Scotland.
In 2005, the Wills family realised a life-long dream and founded Kilchoman Whisky Distillery. Eager to get the distillery up and running, Anthony, along with his two sons, George and Peter, immediately set to work. It’s natural for any new business to have teething problems in the early stages (Kirsty and I know this all too well) but for the Wills family, they faced problem after problem.
From burst pipes and forklift accidents to supply issues and exploding boilers, it seemed like it was one thing after another.
When things finally did get on track a year later, Anthony gave himself the afternoon off to go and watch the rugby in Edinburgh. He left his sons in charge, and unfortunately, it didn’t end well.
The story goes that the sons, also keen rugby fans, wanted to get home to watch the rugby on TV. Instead of gradually feeding the kiln with coal, as their dad had told them to do, they instead dumped an entire bag, possibly two, of coal into the kiln. This caused the kiln to catch fire and set the kiln roof alight.
Needless to say, Anthony wasn’t happy, though it didn’t put him off his rugby.
An Expensive Mistake in Dumbarton
Finally, let’s travel to Dumbarton bottling plant and find out just how costly human error can be.
Now, I remember hearing about this on the news in 2013, and it got me just as mad then as it does now. The story goes that one February night at Chivas Brothers bottling plant in 2013, nightshift workers accidentally dumped nearly 20,000 litres of expensive aged whisky down the drain. Yes, seriously!
It’s believed that, while equipment was being cleaned, aged whisky was flushed down the drain, believed to be wastewater.
The owners were only alerted to the error when sewage workers nearby reported the smell.
Luckily, no rivers or water sources were contaminated, and while the exact figure is not known, the mistake did cost Chivas Brothers a lot of money. Figures vary, but a quick search online states that it could have been as much as £500,000. Yikes!
If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, be sure to head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at the impressive selection of unique whiskies we currently have in stock.
With a diverse selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.
Greg
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