MINEVILLE, N.Y. (WCAX) – Vermont whiskey distillery Whistlepig is in hot water in New York’s north country.
Neighbors of Whistlepig’s New York storage facility in Mineville say the spirit is whetting the appetite of more than just drinkers.
A few years ago, Joe Nephew says he noticed a dark plant creeping onto his Mineville property.
It bloomed on his house and car.
Nephew, who suffers from unrelated COPD and laryngectomy impacts, had to clean it himself.
“I had to literally get up on a step ladder. I washed the whole house by hand. That’s the only way it would come off,” said Nephew.
State testing confirmed the plant growing throughout Nephew’s Grover Hills neighborhood is whiskey fungus.
The funky fungi feed off airborne ethanol vapors.
Nephew immediately thought of the nearby storage facility Moriah Ventures.
It’s just minutes from his home, and houses hordes of barrels of whiskey from Vermont’s Whistlepig distillery.
It’s been there since 2017 and Nephew worries it’s feeding the fungus and could pose health problems.
“If it’s growing on their houses and on my car, we’re breathing it in,” said Nephew.
Experts say whiskey fungus is relatively understudied but hasn’t been tied to any human health risks.
“I’m not saying it’s risk-free. I think there’s more studies to be done, but there doesn’t seem to be any good indication of a true risk to humans outside of the nuisance factor in the unsightly aspects of the growth on surfaces,” said Terry Delaney of the University of Vermont.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation says Mineville has the state’s only reported whiskey fungus.
To address local concerns, New York DEC told WCAX, “DEC is taking residents’ concerns seriously and is in ongoing communication with Whistlepig on the requirements for a corrective action plan to address the environmental impact of the facility’s ethanol emissions.”
Whistlepig declined our request for comment.
However, per a state request for corrective action to address environmental impact, Whistlepig agreed to free power washing for residents within a 960-yard radius of the storage facility.
But there’s a catch. Locals who didn’t want to be named say they must sign away their rights to legal action against Whistlepig to receive power washing.
Whistlepig washed Nephew’s house this summer.
He’s grateful but wants more reassurance that the fungus won’t harm his neighbors in the future.
“They can’t hurt me. The harm’s already been done. There’s a lot of young kids, young couples here,” said Nephew.
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation says they haven’t received any complaints about whiskey fungus in Vermont.