TABC says no evidence of controlled substances found in liquor tested after patrons fall ill at Cypress bar
TABC says they were notified on Oct. 7 about an incident which occurred at Bedrock Tavern located on Grant Road. Two patrons were reportedly hospitalized after consuming shots of Jameson whiskey at the bar two days earlier on Oct. 5.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says they have found no evidence of controlled substances in bottles of whiskey tested after multiple patrons reported falling ill at a bar in Cypress.
TABC says they were notified on Oct. 7 about an incident which occurred at Bedrock Tavern located on Grant Road. Two patrons were reportedly hospitalized after consuming shots of Jameson whiskey at the bar two days earlier on Oct. 5.
The tavern posted a statement on its Facebook page afterwards, saying the customers had taken a drink from the same bottle. In response, the tavern removed the bottle from the shelf and started an internal investigation.
TABC says the bar owner told them that onsite tests of two of the bottles allegedly showed controlled substances in the liquor. TABC seized all nine of the bar’s Jameson bottles and submitted samples of the product from each bottle for testing at a private Arlington-based laboratory.
TABC Chief of Enforcement Ronald Swenson said none of the samples tested positive for controlled substances.
“The lab tests did not reveal any substances that would have made the liquor inside the bottles unsafe for human consumption,” Swenson said. “Since this incident was reported, TABC hasn’t received any other reports of patrons falling ill after consuming Jameson, either in Texas or across the U.S.”
A TABC investigation to determine how the patrons fell ill is still ongoing.
“We take incidents like this very seriously,” Swenson said. “These types of incidents tend to be rare, fortunately, but we’re always going to do everything we can to find out what happened and what steps need to be taken to ensure this isn’t repeated.”
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact TABC at 512-206-3333. The agency will release more information as it becomes available.
