Buffalo Trace Distillery, the oldest continuously operating distillery in Kentucky, is also the Number 1 tourist destination in the commonwealth’s capital city. Thousands come from around the world every year to taste one of Buffalo Trace’s award-winning spirits and tour the picturesque distillery on the Kentucky River.
Never one to disappoint its fans, the distillery offers not one, but four complimentary tours to visitors who are interested in every phase of bourbon production.
“We do about 30 tours daily,” says Tyler Adams, who is responsible for overseeing all visitor experiences at Buffalo Trace.
The most popular of the four tours is the Trace Tour, fully accessible and clocking in at 75 minutes (60 minutes for walking and 15 minutes for a tasting). Bourbon enthusiasts will get the quintessential experience on this tour. See (and smell) thousands of bottles aging in the warehouses. Watch yeast bubble. Learn about the Angel’s Share.
“Visitors love this tour as it provides a good introduction touching on both the history of the distillery and how bourbon is made,” says Adams, adding that they also get a tutorial on the barrel-making process.
Also, this tour gives visitors a chance to see how the barrels are both filled and dumped; see bottles aging inside the rickhouse, and observe how Blanton’s single barrel bourbon is hand bottled.
“This is of particular interest as every bottle of Blanton’s single barrel across the globe has come through this one bottling hall,” says Adams.
If you’re not a bourbon novice, you might want to opt for the second tour – the Old Taylor Tour. Also 75 minutes in length (tour and tasting), it is a walk through bourbon history in the footsteps of E.H. Taylor, Jr., often referred to as “the father of the bourbon industry.”
Beginning at the Old Taylor House, one of the oldest buildings in Franklin County, dating to the late 1700s, the tour stops at the OFC Building and OFC Fermenter #7, appropriately dubbed “Old Taylor” and Warehouse C, the oldest aging building on site, going back to the late 1800s.
Some of the structures are merely remnants, while others are still in use today, but all are reminders of a time when Taylor played a major role in shaping the bourbon industry of today.
On this tour, there are four stops along the way for visitors to enjoy a progressive bourbon tasting.
Please note: As the tour includes a lot of walking up and down stairs and over metal grates, it is not ADA accessible nor open to visitors under 12 years of age.
A third tour, the Hard Hat Tour, is geared to those more interested in the “how tos” of the bourbon industry – what grains are used, how are they cooked, and what is involved in the fermentation process. On this tour, guests have an opportunity to visit the still and see how the product is actually distilled.
Adams says tour participants will not need a hard hat as they won’t be visiting construction sites, but ear protection in the form of ear plugs is required. As the tour includes stairs, uneven surfaces and heights (the top of the still is 40 feet tall), this one is not for those with mobility issues, acrophobia, or those under the age of 12.
“Our three main tours are distinct with very little overlap,” says Adams. “You learn something different from each, and for that reason, we encourage visitors to do all three.”
The fourth tour, the seasonal Arboretum and Botanical Garden Tour, is planned for those who love flora and fauna as well as bourbon.
One of those garden lovers was Albert Blanton who had a passion not only for bourbon, but for gardening and bird watching.
“These gardens are an offshoot of his original gardens around his residence which was completed in 1934,” says Adams. He adds that as an accredited Level II arboretum, “we have committed to providing education on the flora of the Bluegrass Region.”
The tours typically begin in late March/early April or as Adams says, “whenever things begin to bloom,” and continue through August.
With more than 2500 types of plants, 850 types of woody trees and 1650 types of herbaceous perennials, vines, grasses and ground covers, the garden is a lush retreat, and the daylilies, tulips, witch hazels, Lenten roses, dogwoods and magnolias – blooming at different times throughout the season – ensure that the tour is always different even though it follows the same route.
Even though bourbon isn’t the main feature of this tour, tastings are held at different stops along the trail.
Buffalo Trace typically releases tour information eight weeks in advance, and reservations are necessary. Check in time is 20 to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled tour, and if you want to visit the gift shop, an hour before is recommended.
Adams says that even if you don’t have a tour reservation on the day you want to visit, you are encouraged to come anyway.
“We often have cancellations on the day of the tour,” he says, “and even if we don’t, you can always do a tasting.”
