Tennessee Town Covered in ‘Whiskey Fungus’

An Entire Tennessee Town Is Covered in ‘Whiskey Fungus’

“If you take your fingernail and run your fingernail down our tree branch, it will just coat the tip of your finger.”
Residents of Lincoln County, a community of 35,000 in southern Tennessee, say they’ve had enough of the black mold quickly coating their homes, streets, and public spaces. And they’re ready to make Jack Daniel’s fix it.
As Insider explains, the mold, known as baudoinia compniacensis, or by its nickname “whiskey fungus,” grows thanks to the ethanol vapor given off by whiskey distilleries, or in this case, the one by Jack Daniel’s located in town. In 2018, the liquor company built six barrel houses there and was going to construct 14 more before a recent lawsuit curtailed those plans.
Christi Long, who operates a local events company at her more than 100-year-old mansion in the community, filed a lawsuit in January against the county, citing that the barrelhouses lack the proper permits for operation, The New York Times reports. And, Lincoln County Chancellor J.B. Cox agreed, ruling that Jack Daniel’s must cease construction until it obtains the necessary permits.
Read the rest of this interesting piece on Food & Wine