The distillery s rich tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as e. The hard hat tour takes you right into the heart of the factory, up on the. Tour the buffalo trace distillery bourbon trail tours. Another kentucky bourbon thats making great inroads in the uk at the moment is the rather interestingly named buffalo trace.
In addition to buffalo trace kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, the distillery has a history of other finely crafted, awardwinning spirits, including blantons, w. The buffalo trace distillery is located outside of lexington, kentucky near the capital of frankfort at1 great buffalo trace, frankfort, ky 40601. The whiskey wash recently caught up with johnson to learn more about his familys history at the distillery. Freddie johnson, third generation distillery worker and tour guide extraordinaire at buffalo trace, is a reallife bourbon superhero. I remember you used to be able to find buffalo trace, elmer t. Buffalo trace releases three kosher whiskeys the new. This book traces the heritage of one of kentuckys most notable distill. Bourbon geeks and archeology and history freaks now can visit the historic ruins of one of. Tour the grounds with our interactive distillery map and live video.
Join our mailing list to receive blog post updates, breaking news, special offers, and entry into our bourbon themed giveaways. Taylor small batch, singlebarrel, and barrel proof straight bourbon and rye. Within the past decade, buffalo trace has won more awards than any other distillery in the world, including an unmatched seven distillery of the year titles. The trace tour begins with an engaging video of the history of buffalo trace distillery. The historic bourbon pompeii uncovered last year by buffalo trace distillery is now open for tours. Stagg in 1878 and remains an integral part of buffalo traces history.
One such trail led to the banks of the kentucky river where buffalo trace distillery has been making bourbon whiskey the same way for more than 200 years. Buffalo trace is the oldest continuously operating distillery in america. Stagg distillery in 1992 and became a member of the kentucky distillers association at that point. The ofc distillery a taste of history at buffalo trace. Stagg, the buffalo trace distillery tour offers a look into their bourbon making process, a walk through a rickhouse and a pass along the bottling line where each bottle of blantons bourbon is handlabeled and. Frankfort, franklin county, ky april 23, 2020 buffalo trace distillery is releasing its first experimental whiskey for 2020, a wheat recipe bourbon aged for four years, cut with water, then rebarreled and left to age for another. Buffalo trace s namesake whiskey is the distillery s second mostaffordable bottle, behind benchmark, which makes the value all the more remarkable. Old charter is a storied brand whose history goes back to the late 1800s. The oldest continuing operating distillery, buffalo trace distributed bourbon for medicinal purposes during prohibition. A lot of bourbon tours are sanitized, taking place far from where production actually happens im looking at you, woodford reserve. Home to a long list of popular bourbons and whiskeys including e. Buffalo trace distillery venue frankfort, ky weddingwire.
While renovating a storage space in 2016, the crew at buffalo trace came across a wonderfully preserved distillery from the preprohibition era called the ofc distillery. For various reasons the bank closed its books by late 1857 and. Like so many others, it has been bought and sold many times over the decades, but sazerac has owned. Its passed through several ownership changes, the last being the sale to sazerac in 1999. Regardless, the buffalo trace distillery has operated under several different names over the past 200 years including the o.
Buffalo trace kentucky straight bourbon whiskey is the signature, namesake whiskey of buffalo trace distillery, and as such, it better taste good. The distillery is open from monday to saturday from 9 am to 4 pm and on sundays from 12 pm to 3 pm. You will be captivated by the alluring smell and atmosphere of bourbon sleeping inside the aging warehouses. Buffalo trace distillery is an american familyowned company based in frankfort, franklin county, kentucky. What in the world happened to buffalo trace distillery. The bottle is cut to an easydrinking 90 proof and, because its made alongside your staggs. The first distillery operation that can be continuously linked to buffalo trace, was started in 1812, by harrison blanton. As a kentuckian, i take great pride in the various bourbon distilleries in this great state. When sazerac renamed the distillery buffalo trace in 1999, they were one of the founding members of the bourbon trail as a tourist attraction.
History of the btac every fall for the past 15 years buffalo trace distillery has pumped out some of the best bourbons and rye whiskies with their antique collection btac. For many, visiting the buffalo trace distillery is a historical trip through the history of american whiskey and bourbon. We did the basic tour because the hard hat tour was full. Want to visit the unearthed buffalo traces 1873 bourbon. Its origins date back to 1773, and it has a 1792 building still standing on the grounds. You will then walk amidst the path of rolling bourbon barrels. A historic journey to buffalo trace distillery taylor, richard on. In tribute to the mighty buffalo and the rugged, independent spirit of the. Why is buffalo trace not part of the bourbon trail. Buffalo trace distillery wood barrel kentucky bourbon display stand bar man cave. Then you will go inside the renowned blantons bottling hall where you will see.
Another distillery with similar historical extent is burks distillery, now used for. Thankfully, buffalo trace has embraced that history with one of their newer tours. On the spot where the buffalo migration route crossed the kentucky river, weve been making legendary bourbon whiskey for over 200 years. Buffalo trace distillery releases experimental wheat bourbon. Book of world records as the oldest operating bourbon distillery. Taylor is remembered as the last of a breed, a true bourbon aristocrat who was responsible for linking the classic and modern eras of bourbon making. Buffalo trace distillery frankfort, kentucky landmark. Off the kentucky bourbon trail buffalo trace distillery. During the buffalo trace bourbon tour, mozenter educated us about the companys storied history which dates back hundreds of years and survived prohibition. Freddie johnson tells this to a small tour group from all over the country. Johnson is the third generation of his family to work at buffalo trace, where the motto is honor tradition, embrace change.
Buffalo trace distillery frankfort 2020 all you need. Stagg who soon purchased additional land and begun expansions. If you book an advance tour, you are in for a treat. Buffalo traces new bourbon is the first of its kind. This tour is filled with the history of bourbon, and the launching point for many popular and rare brands such as pappy van winkle and weller. In fact, it is a national historic landmark for operating before, during, and after prohibition. Buffalo trace s historic lineage is like a whos who of bourbon.
Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Towards the end of 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against buffalo trace and parent company sazerac for misrepresenting an old charter bourbon to consumers. Buffalo trace carving the trail to great bourbon is an incredible photographic tribute by david toczko to one of kentuckys historic treasures. Apparently so called as it is distilled in what claims to be the longest continuously operating distillery in the usa which was originally on the. Over 200 years of fine bourbon craftsmanship make buffalo trace the worlds most decorated distillery. For its latest release, buffalo trace distillery went into the history books. The buffalo trace distillery and its whiskeys have pulled in over 500 accolades, both national and international, and more than any other north american distillery since 1990. Visiting the buffalo trace distillery this is my south.
The buffalo trace distillery is now the only producer using five recipes for whiskey products three rye recipe bourbons, one barley and one wheat. This parks name comes from the path that herds of buffalo once migrated across the area. In kentucky, buffalo carved a pathway that was followed by americas early pioneers. Taylor a descendent of presidents madison and taylor. Stagg distillery before becoming the buffalo trace distillery in 1992. In tribute to the mighty buffalo and the rugged, independent spirit of the pioneers who followed them, we created our signature buffalo trace kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. The year 1992 saw the facilitys purchase by the sazerac company out of new orleans, and under their care, the distillery was listed on the national register of historic places.
It became the buffalo trace distillery during the summer of 1999, in order to honor an old buffalo trail that cut through the property in the 1700s. The old taylor celebration at buffalo trace distillery the filson. May 11, 2020 buffalo trace distillery has been following the global spread of covid19. Buffalo trace and weller owa 107 barrel pick, blantons bottling, bourbon pompeii, and more. We craft our bourbon brands with a goal of offering consumers the broadest choice of whiskey experiences. Buffalo trace history master distiller series video 1 of.
According to guinness book of world records, buffalo trace distillery represents the oldest operating bourbon distillery. Ancient buffalo carved paths through the wilderness that led american pioneers and explorers to new frontiers. Later, the earliest settlers used this path as a wagon trail into the frontier. Stagg distillery was renamed buffalo trace in june 1999 and introduced its flagship bourbon, buffalo trace kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, in august 1999. Collectively, the antique collection has won over major 150 awards from almost every whiskey competition in the world. Buffalo trace distillery focuses tirelessly on producing great whiskies, which have garnered more than 1,000 awards over the years, distinguishing it as the worlds most awardwinning distillery. The history buffalo trace distillery was founded in 1869 by e. Buffalo trace carving the trail to great bourbon is an incredible.
Off the kentucky bourbon trail buffalo trace distillery abv. Freddie johnson, 3rd generation buffalo trace man the. He sold the operation in 1870, and renamed it old fire copper o. The buffalo trace distillery in kentucky has taken a more proactive approach, working over the past 10 years with the chicago rabbinical council on a line of purposebuilt kosher american whiskeys. Within these beautiful pages, one can take a pictorial walking tour of the oldest continuously operating distillery in america. Bourbon aged four years, cut with water, aged eight more years. The land that is now buffalo trace park was deeded to the town of palmyra for the express purpose of using it as a park. You dont get a chance to see the distilling process but you get to see the storage warehouses and the bottling process. Buffalo trace distillery frankfort all you need to know before. Buffalo trace distillery is a distillery located in frankfort, kentucky.
New listing buffalo trace brown 10 x 12 leather note book holder new. Ok, so ive been a little out of the game since about 201120 or so. Visit buffalo trace distillery on your trip to frankfort. Your driver will start by taking you to frankfort, kentucky which is the home of buffalo trace distillery. In 2009, sazerac purchased the tom moore distillery. The only bottle available for purchase while we were there was blantons. Weller most expressions, like it was bottled water. Whiskey market was booming and stagg built new warehouses. Buffalo trace distillery is a fully operational distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a. Christmas came extra early this year for bourbon history buffs at buffalo trace distillery.
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