Distillery blast injures two in Kentucky

A distillery has been burned to the ground and two men seriously injured after an explosion on Friday.

The blast happened at the Silver Trail Distillery in Hardin, Kentucky, with distiller Jay Rogers, 40, and his assistant Kyle Rogers, 26, left severely burned by a blast and resulting fire, according to reports by Reuters.

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. Both men were airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where they remained in critical condition on Saturday.

Writing on its Facebook Page, the Silver Trail Distillery said: “Around mid-morning on Friday, April 24, Silver Trail Distillery experienced what appears to be a massive equipment failure which resulted in the distillery burning to the ground. Second Distiller Jay Rogers & his Assistant Kyle Rogers suffered serious injuries & are now being cared for at Vanderbilt Hospital. We will have more information available as the investigation continues. In the meantime we ask for everyone to please pray for Jay & Kyle & also for Master Distiller Spencer because his anguish & sorrow has not yet found its depth.”

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

Balentine added in a post on Facebook: “Dear Friends, In my darkest hours of the last two days from all over the country, you have lifted my spirit and humbled me with your outpouring of love and caring for Jay and Kyle. From the bottom of my heart – Thank You.”

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, however the distillery wrote that it believed a “massive equipment failure” was the cause.