When a fire erupted at the J.T. Thixton Distillery Owensboro, Ky., there were 2,143 barrels of whiskey onsite that included 96,000 gallons produced between 1884 and 1886.
As the flames spread, workers tried to save the stored bourbon. They rolled nearly 300 barrels out of the warehouse, but 1,843 barrels ultimately burned.
Residents gathered to watch the blaze. “A fire of such magnitude is extraordinarily a grand sight at night,” a local reporter exclaimed, “but the burning whisky was a feature that gave the conflagration a peculiar interest to the large crowd that assembled.” Read more here, from River City News.