Lawsuit filed after fatal distillery blast

The owner of a distillery is suing a still-maker after one of its employees was killed in a catastrophic explosion.

The Silver Trail Distillery following the explosion in April

The Silver Trail Distillery in Hardin, Kentucky, burned to the ground on 24 April following an explosion which seriously injured two employees.

Distiller Jay Rogers, 40, and his assistant Kyle Rogers, 26, were severely burned and rushed to hospital with more than 80% burns. Jay survived the blast however Kyle later died from his injuries.The pair were believed to be entering the building to check on a batch that had been distilling for about five hours when the blast occurred.

The cause of the fire is still being investigation however the Kentucky Fire Marshal has said it is likely to have been caused from a “catastrophic equipment failure.”

The distillery’s owner, Spencer Balentine, and Jay Rogers have now launched legal action against the company which made the still, Oregon-based Revenoor Company Incorporated, as reported by WPSD Local 6. 

A comment posted on the Silver Trail Distillery Facebook page on Friday warned others using the stills manufactured by the company of the alleged dangers, blaming it for the fatal explosion.

“The model 300 gallon Revenoor used by Silver Trail failed massively hurtling 50 feet and bending a 10 foot sliding steel door before landing in the gravel lot”, it read. “Second Distiller Jay said it was totally without warning and occurred four gallons in on a normal run.”

The Silver Trail Distillery was founded by Spencer Balentine in 2011 and was made an official member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association’s (KDA) Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour in 2012.