Over the summer, Angela and I had the opportunity while traveling to stop at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Not only a beautiful country, but a wonderful whiskey history here as well. When we arrived, the first thing we saw was one of the main rack houses with the huge Buffalo Trace Water Tower over it.
We managed to get there about 15 minutes before the last tour of the day had begun. Of course we signed up, and 15 minutes later we were being taken around part of the distillery.
The beginning of the tour starts off in the gift shop area, right next to some cases that are displaying bottles and history of Elmer T. Lee, W.L. Weller, and some other ones. We got a couple pictures, but the sunset caused a little too much glare for all of them. Here is what we got:
A cool little collection, and lots of good information. There was also a plaque on the wall commemorating all the distilleries that had existed in Kentucky before, during, and after prohibition. Most of them did not make it past prohibition. Buffalo Trace was able to stay open by procuring a medical license to sell Bourbon as medication, and that is part of why they were able to keep their doors open and come back with the passing of the 21st amendment.
The tour guide took us outside for the next part of the tour, and talked about the aging of the whiskey, and the rack houses that are used. He told us about how aging in different parts of the racks affected flavors, and how the whiskey will move in and out of the barrel more or less frequently with the changes in temperature. Barrels in the top racks will seem to age faster, as the temperature is warmer, and more movement in and out of the barrels is happening. The main bourbon aged, Buffalo Trace Straight Kentucky Bourbon, is aged for a minimum of 7 years before being added to the blend that is bottled.
This rack house was actually built up around the racks that hold the barrels, and then the walls secured to the existing infrastructure to ensure that the whiskey didn’t risk collapsing. The tour guide told us that when a tornado came through, it actually tore off part of the roof and wall, destroying a large portion of the building, while not losing a single barrel of whiskey.
The next part of the tour included a little more history, including how Buffalo Trace was started, and the family that made it. The main part that we were interested in during this was the display showing how much whiskey evaporates during aging, or how much is the Angel’s Share. It is surprising to actually see how much of the whiskey is lost during aging, and we grabbed this picture to show you.
After this, we went into a cool little secret passage, into a rack house on the bottom floor. One of the most impressive things here we learned, is that the guys that load the barrels into the racks know exactly where to put the bung of a barrel so that it is on top when it is done rolling into place, no matter the position of the rack it is going into. Here we also learned about the selection process for Old Weller, and Pappy Van Winkle bottles for the annual Antique Collection release.
The last stop on the tour was to see some of the Blanton’s Bourbon being bottled, after being cold filtered. If you aren’t familiar with cold filtering, it takes out the oils that are in the whiskey to give the bottle a very clean look on the shelf, instead of appearing cloudy. There are varying opinions on if and how this affects the flavor of the final product, but for Blanton’s, it is cold filtered. It is also all bottled and labeled by hand. Angela’s Daughter was with us during the tour, and in this part of the tour, the folks that were bottling and labeling gave her one of the horse toppers, as well as a Blanton’s bag, which she enjoyed and we were very thankful for. In this room, there was also a display case that held all the bottles that Buffalo Trace makes.
The tour ended back at the gift center, where we were all brought upstairs to try some of the products. Angela and I got, between the two of us, a sample of White Dog un-aged whiskey, Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and the vodka that Buffalo Trace is now making. We were also given a small taste of the Bourbon Cream. The only part of the tour we didn’t get to see was the actual cooking of the grains and the fermenting, because they had that closed for cleaning and repairs which happens every summer. So now we have a great reason to go back.
If you are a lover of whiskey, then this is a tour that you need to take at some point in your lifetime. Tons of information, and a terrific atmosphere that is difficult to beat. Every single employee who works there is friendly, and clearly loves their job, and is more than happy to talk about the bourbon and the distillery. Check them out if you ever get a chance, it is worth the trip out there.
