Jack Daniels to stop construction over whiskey fungus case

A Jack Daniels construction project will be stopped after a neighbour argued she was meeting a plague of whiskey fungus driven by escaping alcohol vapours.

Christi Long, of Lincoln County, Tennessee, argued her property was covered in the fungus, which occurs as a black crust on surfaces.

Her lawyer informed BBC News that it is a growing problem for citizens in the area. The fungus, which has ethanol fumes, grows on surfaces around bakeries and distilleries around the world.

Fungus spread around the area hinders the Jack Daniels project: 

Mrs Long heads an events venue next to some Jack Daniels warehouses, including one under construction, and says the invading fungus has required her to pay thousands on power washing.

Also read: Cocaine worth $330m seized by Ecuador police in banana shipments

She is suing the regional county zoning office, arguing it did not correctly agree on warehouse permits.

Some angry residents are now asking for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, which Louisville-based firm Brown-Forman owns, to establish air filters to combat the issue.

Jason Holleman, the lawyer of Mrs Long, says whiskey firms usually speak about the evaporation process – dubbed “the angels’ share” – without noting the resulting mould that arrives with it.

“If you head on one of these distillery tours, they will reveal to you about the angels’ share that goes into the air,” he says. “And unfortunately, that even results in the devil’s fungus.”