Heaven Hill Distillery worker dies inside Kentucky bourbon warehouse
A Heaven Hill employee died inside a bourbon barrel warehouse in Bardstown Thursday morning, according to a statement from the Kentucky spirits company.
Travis Jury, 41 of Bardstown, died at the scene on Thursday, Nelson County Coroner Danielle Chladek said. An investigation is ongoing, she said.
“This morning, we experienced a tragic incident at our Bardstown location that resulted in the death of one of our employees. We are deeply saddened by this loss and extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues affected by this tragedy,” Josh Anderson, chief production officer for Heaven Hill Brands, said.
“We are providing support to our employees and counseling resources are on site to support them with this profound loss. We are working with authorities during this time and will share more information as it becomes available,” Anderson said.
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement they were called to Heaven Hill around 7:55 a.m. for a report of a fall.
“The preliminary investigation indicates a fatal industrial fall occurred involving a 41-year-old male employee,” the sheriff’s office said. “This information is preliminary in nature and no further details will be released at this time.”
Heaven Hill has a campus in Bardstown and a distillery in Louisville. Bourbon barrels are typically stored in “ricks” or racks inside seven-story warehouses where they age for years. According to Heaven Hill’s website, the company has more than 70 rickhouses on seven different sites, holding between 10,000 and more than 70,000 barrels each.
The main campus holds more than half a million barrels and was the site of the infamous 1996 fire that destroyed the distillery as well as seven rickhouses holding nearly 100,000 barrels of bourbon.
Owned by the Shapira family, Heaven Hill Distillery produces Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Heaven Hill, Bernheim and Larceny bourbons as well as many others.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 12:38 PM.
