TABC investigating possible liquor contamination at bar in Cypress

CYPRESS, Texas – The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said Friday that it’s investigating possible liquor contamination at a bar located in Cypress.

According to TABC, multiple bottles of liquor from the Bedrock Tavern located at 12215 Grant Road have been submitted to both state and private laboratories for testing.

On Thursday, the bar posted a statement regarding the investigation to its Facebook page, explaining what prompted the investigation.

Bedrock Tavern said on Oct. 5, there was a situation involving customers who all had a drink from the same bottle. Bedrock Tavern said they immediately pulled the bottle off the shelves and started an internal investigation.

“We reviewed the cameras for that entire shift to see if said bottle had been tampered with or if any customer drinks were contaminated and found nothing out of the ordinary. Additionally, the bottle was first opened earlier that evening straight off the shelf‚” the bar’s Facebook post said, in part.

Bedrock Tavern said it then tested the bottles themselves and received a positive result. Although they did not explain the positive result further, the bar stated that it also tested an unopened bottle of the same brand of alcohol and received a positive test. They also said they tested other bottles of different brands, which did not show positive results.

“Given our concern, we contacted our liquor distribution representative. We explained everything to them in full detail. We were advised to contact the appropriate authorities,” Bedrock Tavern said.

On Oct. 7, the bar said it contacted the appropriate agencies, including TABC, which arrived at the bar with three detectives.

Friday evening, TABC said they received the first laboratory test results for one of the bottles of whiskey removed from the tavern. The results showed no evidence of a controlled substance in the bottle. Laboratory tests from the remaining bottles are pending.

TABC released the following statement:

“The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has received the first laboratory test results for one of the bottles of whiskey removed from Bedrock Tavern following reports of customers falling ill after consuming the product. Laboratory analysis found no evidence of a controlled substance in the tested bottle. The bottle submitted for testing by TABC is the same bottle from which the business is stated to have served the customers. Laboratory results for the remaining bottles submitted as part of the investigation are pending. TABC continues to monitor the situation and will provide updates as additional information becomes available.”