![]() ![]() This is called ‘angel’s share’ and is responsible for ‘whiskey fungus’. When whiskey or any other spirit is kept inside a barrel for maturing, a small amount evaporates through the wood. Visitors tour the museum at the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. If the fungus is found in well water, it should be disinfected and examined by a licensed professional. “Although there are no known health hazards, if you choose to remove the fungus from surfaces, we recommend you use N95 masks, goggles, and gloves,” the Indiana state department of health has advised. However, exposure to Baudoinia compniacensis does not pose any risks to human health.īut public health officials have recommended people not inhale spores while washing off the fungus. “I’d say it’s more than a nuisance… It is really destructive,” James Scott, the mycologist who first classified whiskey fungus, told Business Insider. It grows on everything from construction materials to road signs, fences to cars, porch furniture to basketball hoops. The sooty, black gunk resembles toxic black mould, which can be concerning to those who first see it, as well as those forced to live with it, according to a report in Business Insider. Up to two per cent of all alcohol evaporates every year through barrels, releasing ethanol vapour into the air and leading to the growth of “whiskey fungus”.Īlso read: Russia won’t go dry: Indian liquors to replace Western brands in Moscow ![]() “ Baudoinia compniacensis uses the ethanolic vapour to initiate germination and to express proteins in the fungus that allow the fungus to tolerate high temperatures,” the Indiana state department of health said. A stop sign in a subdivision near a Jim Beam production and bottling facility in Frankfort, Kentucky is covered in the fungus, named Baudoinia Compniacencis, which feeds on the ethanol released by local whiskey distilleries and facilities. It is found across North America, Europe and Asia and thrives where fermentation occurs, like in bakeries and distilleries. The fungus often grows on the surfaces of many distilleries around the world. It was misidentified until 2007, when Canadian mycologist Dr James Scott re-classified the new fungi through DNA analysis and named it Baudonia after the French scientist who discovered the mould, an article in Atlas Obscura says. It was first discovered around distilleries in the Cognac region of France in 1872 by a scientist named Antonin Baudoin who described it as a “plague of soot”. The fungus, Baudoinia compniacensis, consumes these ethanol fumes.
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