A large fire broke out Wednesday at Glenns Creek Distilling in Frankfort, Kentucky, prompting multiple fire departments to respond to the craft distillery's campus along McCracken Pike. The distillery reported in a Facebook post that it had lost several buildings in the blaze, and that the fire had knocked out power across the property.
According to WLKY, the fire broke out at the distillery and drew crews from multiple fire departments to the scene. WLKY sent a crew to Frankfort to gather more information as the response unfolded. WHAS11 described the fire as near the Franklin-Woodford County line and reported that Franklin County Fire Department units and neighboring agencies were battling multiple structure fires at the distillery. Emergency officials urged the public to avoid McCracken Pike and Duncan Road while crews worked.
A Distillery Built on Bourbon History
A Distillery Built on Bourbon History Glenns Creek Distilling owner David Meier bought the former Old Crow Distillery property in 2014 and began distilling there in May 2015, according to Visit Frankfort and Spotlight on Business. The current Old Crow distillery was built in 1878, after Dr. James C. Crow's death in 1856. Crow helped perfect the scientific sour mash method while working for Oscar Pepper at the site of what is now Woodford Reserve. The craft distillery also makes its signature “OCD #5” bourbon using a wild yeast strain harvested directly from original fermentation tank #5 inside the abandoned 19th-century Old Crow ruins still standing on the property, according to Spotlight on Business.
The distillery is in an area with other producers, including Buffalo Trace Distillery, Castle & Key Distillery, and Woodford Reserve Distillery. It is also no stranger to disaster. In April 2025, surging Kentucky River floodwaters completely submerged the distillery's neighboring 26,000-square-foot warehouse while narrowly missing the main distillery structure, according to the Associated Press.
The Old Crow Campus Has Burned Before
The Old Crow Campus Has Burned Before The same historic Old Crow property was the site of a major disaster in July 2019, when a lightning-induced fire destroyed a 45,000-barrel Jim Beam whiskey warehouse. That blaze destroyed roughly 1.4 percent of the company's statewide aging inventory. The fire sent an estimated 23-mile toxic alcohol plume into Glenns Creek and the Kentucky River and caused major fish kills, according to WLKY's 2019 coverage.
That history looms over how crews approach a fire on the same ground. Whether runoff reached Glenns Creek during Wednesday's fire has not been reported.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Bourbon Country
Part of a Broader Pattern in Bourbon Country Kentucky has also seen a warehouse collapse at O.Z. Tyler Distillery.
The extent of the damage at Glenns Creek Distilling, including which buildings were lost, had not been fully detailed as of Wednesday evening. The distillery's own Facebook post confirmed several buildings were lost, that power had gone out across the campus, and that there was no loss of product.
