Worker injured in explosion at whiskey distillery

A Wigle Whiskey employee has been injured at its distillery in Pennsylvania after a still exploded yesterday morning.

Image: Wigle Whiskey

The man, who has not been named, suffered “surface injuries” after a whiskey still exploded, the force knocking him backwards.

The incident occurred at around 11am local time on Thursday (4 January) and authorities told local media that the explosion did not lead to a fire.

Speaking to CBS, Pittsburg Fire Bureau chief Darryl Jones commented: “It’s [the still] about 15 feet tall, at least 8 feet in diameter, and the explosion, the force rocked it off its mountings and moved it about 12 feet, so it was a substantial explosion, substantial force”.

Meredith Meyer Grelli, co-owner of the Wigle Whiskey Distillery, told CBS that the distillery’s ethanol monitors did “not document an explosion and our understanding was there was no ignition”.

Announcing the incident in a Facebook post, Wigle Whiskey said the man was in “good spirits” and was with his family.

Following the explosion, the distillery tasting room was shut but is expected to re-open today 5 January.

Wigle Whiskey, based in the Strip District in the city of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania, produces a range of organic spirits using heirloom grains.