Currently we are waiting for some labels to be shipped, so I have some down time to write this post! I’m back again with another update!
Building 88
After completing the Wine Room portion of the internship, Mike and I were transferred to a new
area called Building 88. This building is the main distribution hub of alcohol in at the back end of the plant. Distilled whiskey comes in from the Wine Room, is held, and then sent over to the J&M (the barreling building) across the street. Gin is also received from the wine room where the proof is slightly cut and sent out to the Mini Tank farm to eventually be shipped off to suppliers. Also, at this section of the plant they manufacture Seagrams 7 Crown which contains a mixture of different blends of aged whiskey, light whiskey, spirits, and blending flavor.
Building 88 is also received the “dumped” aged whiskey back from J&M, where the proof is cut slightly and sent out on trucks. Any rails containing Grade 9 or 11 Spirits are unloaded from the building and either sent directly to the Tank Farm, or the Wine Room. A lot happens at Building 88–a large portion of fresh alcohol is being fed in one direction, and being received from another.
This will be fun
Mike and I’s goal remains the same as it was in the Wine Room: to label all the pipes, write SOP’s and update redlines. So far this building seems much easier as it was all built around the same time in the mid 80’s. Unlike the Wine Room where pipes where slowly added to adjust to new layouts and other ones were simply rust, in Building 88 every pipe has a purpose. Don’t worry though, there are still a far share of congested areas… However, now we are working for the logistics manager in the back end of the plant. After discussing, the labeling here will be quite different. Lines will have names, and the color of the label will match a recently updated flowchart sheet made by one of the Engineers here. Spirits will be blue, whiskey will typically be gray, high wine will be black, and gin will be green.
The Mini Tank Farm
Also, as a part of Building 88 we will be labeling the Mini Tank Farm right next store. This is were the Seagrams 7 Crown is actually made, and where Gin waiting to be shipped is stored. There is also another new element that we have not seen before… Cam locks! These allow the operators to attach a hose from different pipes to jump lines direct the load out of the product. It seems overwhelming at first but once you understand what they typically do it’s not too bad.
Well, that’s all for now!