Buffalo Trace Distillery
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I think Buffalo Trace Distillery is the only distillery around that offers complimentary tours/tastings (someone PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong ;) This Sunday I visited for a second time with my dad in town. Our tour guide, Jeremy, was informative and funny. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed every bit of the tasting, and especially loved the bourbon ball. We ended up buying more. Check early for tickets if you have a specific day to visit, but sometimes you can get lucky with open time slots a few days before.
What a fun stop on the Kentucky Bourbon trail. Definitely a do Not miss! Buffalo Trace is a leader in the bourbon industry. They offer a wide variety of bourbons as well as a vodka, a bourbon lemonade and other fun drinks. We stopped on a Sunday afternoon- while the place was busy the help was friendly and relaxed- did not feel rushed at all. They offer free tastings and tours. You may want to book a tour ahead of time if you plan to go on a very busy weekend. The day we were there they had a great selection of some of their specialty bourbons to buy.
My wife has been in KY for just over 1.5 years and we hadn't been to a distillery. Not being a big drinker anymore... I'm just meh on it but I do feel living in KY requires certain requirements. And visiting, being a short-term bourbon alcoholic, or at least knowing a bit about bourbon is one of those things. Racking my brain for the best first, I went back and forth between a few of them. We will visit some of the others but I feel like Buffalo Trace is a good starter. It provides a bit of country, a bit of history, and there's a FREE tasting tour. It is crowded though. The bourbon craze last decade... Pappy, Eagle Rare, Blanton's, and a few other drinks put this place on the map for so many in the bourbon world. So it stays busy. It does get extra points for having a FREE tour and tasting but ultimately I think this tour focuses more on history. In my opinion, Buffalo Trace isn't the place/tour to come to to learn how it's made. There are far better distilleries for that. The tour is also a little disappointing. Like I said before, you learn a bit about history but even rickhouses... you step foot in one. It's a bit cramped and you don't get to walk around it. Again, there are far better distilleries that show off their rickhouses. It's the same with the tasting. I haven't done this tasting in a while but I was crazy surprised that they had samples of their vodka on their tasting. They did have Weller 107 on display for the tasting... and we were there when they were dropping bottles in the gift shop. I'm surprised it hasn't turned into every(almost) other product that Buffalo Trace has... it's allocated before it ever hits the shelves. Ultimately, I'd visit this distillery for the history. Just expect to visit other distilleries to learn how it's made, see the process, and in some cases, the others have grounds that are more beautiful.
Buffalo Trace was just a quick but enjoyable stop for us. It's it far off the highway and has ample parking. They offer a quick guided free tasting on the second floor. If you won't drink, they have samples of a yummy root beer. Our tasting hosts super personable. There was additional sampling in the merch shop on the first floor. The Buffalo Trace lemonade cans were great as were the grown up root beer floats. We're from Chicago and we'd never seen an entire wall of Blanton's before. Very exciting.
And a Good Time Was Had by ALL!! First of all, the grounds are absolutely STUNNING! This would be a fabulous place to have an event! Their tours are free, which is very nice and unexpected! Especially given how nice the facility is and how well they do the tour and the tastings. All top-notch! Our tour guide was named Jay. He was kind of a low-key , laid back dude but he tried hard to entertain everyone. We were not able to get into one of the barrel rooms, but that was not his fault. Apparently they were in the middle of trying to fix something. But he was able to pivot and keep our tour going and keep it fun. The tasting was done very well. Everyone chose their favorite. We went to the on-site gift and liquor store before our tour and after and everyone working there have been trained well and were very friendly and helpful and accommodating. They have several items there that we cannot get around the area we live in and you may not have in your area either- so take advantage of buying it while you are there at the distillery. Highly recommend this tour!
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a mind blowing experience for a first timer. The grounds are massive with historic buildings that have been distilling, aging and bottling bourbon over 200 years. The distillation aromas in the air are intoxicating. We arranged a tour of the facility in combination with a river cruise on the Kentucky River. We signed in for our tour early, so we could shop in the distillery gift shop. I spent several hundred dollars in the gift shop buying special bourbons that you can only purchase at the distillery. I even bought Buffalo Trace dog treats. Plan at least an hour for shopping as lines are long. Fred was our tour guide. Fred was knowledgeable, humorous, interesting and passionate about Buffalo Trace. We learned the history of the distillery, saw how barrels are made, transported and stored and saw the bottling process for the Blanton bourbons. We concluded our tour with a tasting of four bourbons and a sample Kentucky Bourbon Ball. Unfortunately, the tasting was a bit rushed for us. The bourbons were good and I would have liked to make additional purchases after the tasting, but we were not able to because of the timeline for the river cruise. Parking is free. The line to check ids is long but moves quickly. There are restrooms available. I'm told dogs and kids are welcome with some restrictions, but I didn't see any. The tour of Buffalo Trace should be on every bourbon drinker or history buff's bucket list. I want to go back.
Disney world of bourbon. Nice tour. More importantly they have great bottles that you can't always get in your state and they are reasonably priced.
I can't believe I have never reviewed Buffalo Trace before after many visits over the years. The first stop is to obtain a wristband. You need to provide ID, and you will be given a wristband (free) which allows access to the tastings. Tastings are offered in the building with the gift shop. The tastings are free and you don't have to take the tour for the tastings. The tour is interesting and enjoyable, but you might want to make advance reservations as it does sell out at times. The gift shop is excellent, featuring everything from glasses and coasters to all varieties of clothing. There are many collectible items. Perfect place to shop for anyone who loves bourbon. There are different varieties of bourbon available each day. Today I scored a bottle of Eagle Rare, yay! Limited to one per person. It is well worth the drive to experience Buffalo Trace. It is a little off the Bourbon Trail but easy to find.
We enjoyed our morning spent at buffalo Trace. It is very clean and organized. I saw a gentleman washing the screens and windows on the mill. There were ladies cleaning the outside windows at the log cabin. The staff were very friendly, helpful, and seemed to like their jobs. They allow dogs on the property and inside when making a purchase/taste testing. They gave our dogs treats and the staff welcomed them in. The property is beautiful and great to take dogs on a walk. We enjoyed our day and may go back tomorrow depending on the specials!!
What a beautiful distillery! Kentucky was part of my husband's retirement trip and BT was outstanding! This place is huge! We had lunch starting our tour. Food was good people are hustling! Our guide Michael was excellent. Extremely knowledgeable and very informative.
Finally landed a EH Taylor Tour. Everything was sold out online. But when I was checking into the gift shop this morning, they had an opening, so I jumped on it for this afternoon. I hear this is the best tour in terms of history and tasting. I'm excited to see how this tour compares to the others. I really liked the Trace tour and I was very disappointed with the hard hat tour, which puts a lot of pressure on this tour to deliver. Ok, so this tour was awesome. So much history. Fun. Entertaining and great tasting experience. This is hands down the best tour I've been on at Buffalo Trace.
In my humble opinion, the Bourbon Trail should begin here. Based on all other distilleries we visited, Buffalo Trace is the most bourbon-centric, no frills, and no additives approach to both making bourbon and touring a distillery. It is just so simple, they don't even rotate their barrels or add any finishing touches to them. This is THE hardest tour to book. We ended up visiting on THE most crowded day they have ever experienced because they were releasing Weller CYPB (craft your perfect bourbon.) The lines were out on the roads. Even then, they proactively identified and emailed us additional parking and ran a shuttle efficiently so that all reserved tours could have expedited entry. As an event planner myself, I was so impressed by the smooth operations despite thousands of people lined up. I would suggest that you plan your visit around tour availability if needed.
We had an amazing time on the Buffalo Trace Tour. Our guide was so nice as he guided us through in 100° heat. The grounds are beautiful and the gift shop is well stocked with all your favorites. We scheduled a tour so we bypassed a pretty long line. So I highly recommend you make a reservation if you want to do the tour. I heard you can do the taste testing without a reservation so check into that if that's more your speed. Also wanted to do a shoutout to all the staff. They were friendly and very helpful.
3 years ago
We had the first tour (10 am) of the morning but arrived early to stand in line to hear what the daily bourbon offering would be available for purchase in the gift shop. The line wasn't too long being a Monday. A collective whoop went up from the crowd when it was announced that Blanton's was the bourbon available as it is rare to find in many places. One gentleman I met drove from Nebraska! We were allowed to re-enter after putting our purchases in the car without waiting. The tour was very informative and entertaining with Jimmy C as our very experienced and funny guide. This one leaves you with all the feels. read more
2 years ago
Fantastic tour and tasting! Lynn was an incredible tour guide full of knowledge about the history and production of Buffalo Trace bourbon! read more
Love this distillery. It was our very first Bourbon Trail tour way back in COVID! The tastings were great and the staff always friendly. We went last nite for their first Toast of the Trace event. Bourbon pairings with lite snacks and bourbon creme hot chocolate. Oh and the light show was a great bonus! read more
Buffalo Trace distillery is by far one of our favorites, not just because their whiskey is our favorite flavor profile but also the history behind this distillery. By the time we made reservations(about a month previous)all the tours were sold out except the tasting tour, so plan accordingly. We still had a great time. The tour takes you through the history of this distillery and ends with a tasting of their products, and sorry Blantons was not on the menu. read more
Unfortunately I wasn't able to book a tour earlier enough, but we did walk some of the grounds and loved the facility. The staff was organized and friendly managing the line into the gift shop. I do wish they would let you know what bourbon/whiskey they have in stock while you are waiting though. Parking is free and I noticed some of the folks on the tour had dogs with them so it seems like they are pet friendly as well? read more
During the post-COVID era, some of the distilleries still haven't reopened with a social distancing plan. Buffalo Trace IS open and they've done a good job. Unfortunately, they were booked solid for weeks out so even as a single, I was not able to get a spot on one of the walking tours. Masks are required at all times on the facility. You'll be told so by the parking attendant. At the entrance to the building, there are markings on the floor to keep groups separated while waiting to enter. At the entrance, a temperature check from a masked associate who captures contact tracing information as well as issuing a wristband to show that you've passed the test. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE A PURCHASE WITHOUT THAT WRISTBAND! The gift shop is of course open and I did a pretty good job of browsing while unsuccessfully waiting to get on a walking tour. I ended up purchasing a fridge magnet, a bottle of the Buffalo Trace bourbon and a bottle of their bourbon cream. Those all made it home and have since been enjoyed. It's a huge campus and there's lots to see. You'll want to try to book ahead unlike yours truly. [Review 13525 overall, 844 of 2020.] read more
I am a self-proclaimed bourbon connoisseur so during my short stay in Kentucky, I absolutely had to visit Buffalo Trace Distillery, closed or not! I only had time on Sunday to go and unfortunately that is the only day the distillery is closed to visitors--what a bummer. So I drove into an empty parking lot, parked close to the visitor entrance, and just walked around the grounds appreciating the amazing art form that goes on inside the buildings. I would've easily spent a lot of cash here on some souvenirs because I make irrational buying decisions when it comes to amazing bourbon whiskey and bourbon whiskey accessories. If there were a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20 or 23 year available at the gift shop, I would've just bought it, no matter how much! read more
1 year ago
4 years ago
Had the most incredible visit to Buffalo Trace Distillery!!! We were fortunate enough to take 2 tours today!!! Both our tour guides Jimmy & Chuck were phenomenal and the Expansion tour and Bourbon Barrel Tours were highly informative!!! We also got to pick up a couple sought after bottle of Blantons!!! Best way to start off our Kentucky Road Trip Adventure!!! Oh and bonus we got to meet the man, the myth, the legend FREDDIE!l read more
5 years ago
Awesome tour/tasting! You need to grab this tour early when it comes out in the month, they are free and go immediately. There is a "wait list" when it came out - it might seem intimidating but there was a huge queue and I was able to grab 6 tickets for a Saturday. The tour was more history focused for the "trace of tasting" tour vs. how the bourbon was made. The tasting was my favorite - they added on the bourbon cream and root beer which really made it unique and added a break from all the neat tastings (or your friends that don't like bourbon). They did a check when you walked in for temp due to covid and required masks except in tasting. Overall awesome experience! read more
2 years ago
The tours were sold out for Saturday but we were still allowed to do the tastings and shop from the gift shop. It seemed like there was so much history to learn so I'll definitely be making my way back to get the full experience. The staff was friendly and everything was clean. read more
2 years ago
This was such a fun place! They have free tours & bourbon tastings! Our tour guide was so friendly! read more
So this was a decent tour. We did the generic Trace Tour with 6 of us plus 2 kids. This tour is kid friendly. There wasn't a ton of walking and over half was outdoors. You got to go in one barrelhouse and the Blanton's production line building. There were 6 samples, with one being a non alcoholic root beer to mix with the bourbon cream. They also had a large sample glass of just the root beer for those under 21, which was honestly a nice touch! Our tour guide was fun and knowledgeable. Now this tour does not go into how the bourbon is made, and you see none of that production. To me I didn't mind as I've been to other tours so I get that, but we had some people who had never done a bourbon tour before, so keep that in mind. Their gift shop opens early, so plan on getting an early tour time. With a tour confirmation you do get to skip the line a little bit and bypass those looking for a bottle. Now this is where I don't like their "limited release" items. To me, those booking a tour should have bottles set aside or I would even pay the bottle price for a tour to be guaranteed a bottle. Because if you do a later tour, the odds of things being sold out is very high. That doesn't necessarily sit right with me. Now you can just do a self tour, and even tour some of the grounds before/after your tour as well. All in all it was a decent tour. Some of their specialty tours look nice as well and definitely more in depth. The basic tour took us about an hour start to finish. We had a noon tour and one type of spirits was sold out by the time we got into the gift shop well before our tour time. So keep that in mind. read more
4 years ago
The one place that I was looking forward to taking my bf on his first-ever bourbon tour. This was an hour from Louisville but even before the trip, it was several months waiting to book for that tour that was only opened a month in advance and the tours book up fast. It was totally worth the experience so highly recommend! read more
4 years ago
First time visiting and won't be the last. What a top notch experience from start to finish. Checked in early for our tour and wanted to hit up the gift shop and see what the days release was. Great day to go because it was Blanton's. I've been fortunate to have been gifted bottles but I've never found my own in the wild. I also searched the boxed ones for the right letter and found it! They will issue you a wristband upon check in and when you go to the register they will scan your wristband which signifies your Id has been checked. Prices were ok, a little higher then the first place we stopped but the Blanton's was retail price so that was a huge bonus. The tour was very informative and the young lady was knowledgeable about the history. It was nice to hear about the aging process along with how they are stored in the warehouse. They were boxing up EH Taylor which is close to finding a unicorn the day we were there. So if you're looking for a free experience this is the place to go. Just make a reservation before you go. Still blows my mind they offer the tour and sampling for free. read more
2 years ago
Maggie is the best tour guide! We had a wonderful time on the Trace Tour. Maggie showed us around and answered all our questions and more. She had us laughing the whole time! Tasting was delicious as well. Would highly recommend! read more
The place is absolutely breathtaking! The grounds are taken care of superbly! So beautiful, and picturesque is the landscape that it's hard to find time to get inside the building for the tour. It's a National Historical Site, so you can imagine the beauty and history here. The tour guide was awesome. He was fun, so knowledgeable and funny. He obviously enjoys his job, and was great at getting the entire group engaged during our tour. We took the Trace Tour and bourbon tasting experience. It's complimentary and very interesting. If you're looking to go I highly recommend it. Just make sure you go online and reserve your spot before heading there. They are booked full for weeks as of right now, but you can sign up on the waiting list, and as cancellations occur they are great about contacting you through email if slots come open. read more
3 years ago
If you like bourbon, this is the place to go. Buffalo Trace makes many of the most sought after whiskeys on the market. The people and super friendly. The grounds and facilities are beautiful. The bourbon is delicious. If you dig history and tradition, Buffalo Trace has it in spades. If you like science, technology and research, they have that too. A can't miss if you're in Kentucky. read more
4 years ago
We were just doing a drive through, trying to hit multiple distilleries, so we really just did a (free) tasting and a stop at the gift shop. Having stopped by the Sazarac House in New Orleans, I was quite happy to see that they're owned by the same company. For the gift shop, they have a number of bottles, but a lot of them are ones that limit you to one bottle a day per person, so plan in advance. Friendly staff, well worth a stop. read more
1 year ago
This is the oldest working distillery in the nation. It is a national historic landmark. The history of the owners and bourbon is amazing. We took the tour and you need to sign up in advance on line. Sometimes you can get in same day because people cancel. Our guide was so knowledgeable about the history and all the products. You get to walk around and see the warehouse to the bottling. There is no charge for the trace tour. At the end you get a great sampling of there products. You even get a root beer and bourbon candy.,if you looking to buy a bottle they have many choices. If you looking for Blantons or eagle rare it's only available on certain days when it's made. It will be gone in an hour. They open at 9:00am. Great tour and history lesson. read more
Wow!!! The history here is reason enough to visit whether you like bourbon or not. So when you are a bourbon lover like me it's even better! The tour was amazing. So cool seeing, smelling, and hearing the way and history of the distillery. The free tasting at the end was very welcomed! Staff were all super friendly and knowledgeable! Store was great. Selection of product varies by day read more
5 years ago
I've toured Buffalo Trace 3x now and every time I've learned something new and different. My first tour was back in 2010. We did a hard hat tour. Then I toured again in 2015 and for a third time in Aug of 2021. The property has expanded greatly since that first tour but the quality has remained outstanding. First, they don't charge for tours here which is pretty awesome. Secondly, since covid you can make advance reservations for tours online, but we were also able to book day of just by showing up. They were able to fit us in 40 minutes later which was pretty fantastic. They have a couple different tours that focus on different aspects of the bourbon making process. I haven't been on a bad one yet. Surprisingly, kids are allowed which worked out well for this mama. My brother really wanted to go here and I looked at him incredulously like what am I supposed to do with a preschooler at a bourbon distillery. Here's the thing. They have a playground! So we took my 3 year old and my brother's 10 year old to the playground before our tour. For the tour I put my 3 year old in the stroller with his headphones and his tablet and he did great. I promised the tour if he became disruptive I would leave and take him back to the playground, but the tour was only an hour and he sat quietly and watched tv. They even gave him a Blanton's horse for being so well behaved. At the end of the tour they offer a generous tasting which included Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Weller, wheatley vodka and Bourbon creme. For the kids they had root beer. They have enlarged the gift shop a lot since my first tour, but I am sad to report you won't be able to get Weller, Blanton's, and of course Pappy in the store. Oh well a girl can dream. Still a great tour. Highly recommend! read more
The whole family had a great time on this tour. We learned alot about the longest continously running distillery in the U.S. The awesome employees in the Blanton bottling hall also gave our kids bottle toppers. Being able to walk around the grounds after the tour was fun. Got to see older buildings and landmarks. If you go, make sure you check out the 7,000,000 Buffalo trace barrel warehouse. So cool. read more
2 years ago
The tour was wonderful and free on top of it. Art was a great and knowledgeable tour guide. read more
The perfect tour of one of Kentucky's best distillery Hands down. Buffalo Trace is hands-down one of the best if not the best distillery tours in the area and well worth the 50 min drive from DT louisville. The tours are free book early on the web site calendar and the tastings are free as well, ( tip your guide please) you'll enjoy the drive, The scenery on the way to our states capital and the smell of the distillery at work then enjoy the taste of the distillery at play. Enjoy and your welcome!! If you go early enough hit up midway ky for a bite to eat at my favorite place and near woodford distillery Wallace Station Pike deli and bakery https://www.wallacestation.com or dinner at Holly Hill Inn https://www.hollyhillinn.com read more
What a great historic tour! We began our Bourbon tasting with this tour and learned so much. This facility is one of the oldest and provides a lot of historical references. I recommend booking your tour well in advance, I think ours was booked 3 month prior. I also recommend getting there early as the parking can take some time and depending on your tour time the lines to check in can be quite lengthy. Our appointment was at 11:15am and many people were there just to visit the shop as we happened to be touring on a release day. I will say they did come and ask the line if anyone had a tour soon and they pulled me out. The tour was great, very informative with a lot of history and focus on post distillation processing. My husbands favorite part was the Blandons packaging room. Very good tour/tasting for the price. Note they do have limits on number of bottles purchased and you wont necessarily know what they're putting out that day. Despite the challenges of parking and lines based on the various tours I took this is one of my favorites, especially from a historic perspective combined with great products. read more
2 years ago
What a great place to visit. We were driving from Cincinnati to Kingsport Tn and Buffalo Trace was a slight detour so we figured why not. Wasn't expecting mush other than to pop into the gift shop because we had our two boxers with us but to our surprise they welcomed the dogs with open arms. They said we could even take them on a tour but sadly we didn't have the time. Gift shop that day had Buffalo Trace and EH Taylor so we grabbed a couple of bottles for the collection. Their selection varies day to day and they only allow one bottle purchased per quarter. I definitely want to go back and take a tour and explore the grounds a bit more. read more
Let's start with free! This is a free tour, free tasting and free good time. Careful you may learn something about bourbon. The oldest continuously operating distillery in America. Even if you don't like bourbon you should check this distillery out. A little secret they also distill a 10x vodka. Don't forget to visit the Firehouse Cafe not free but damn good sandwich well worth the cash and getcha a bottle of the rootbeer they brew up not alcoholic so get one for the young folk too. The tour takes about an hour and every tour guide tells the distillery story in a different way. Happy tasting! read more
4 years ago
We had a tour scheduled at 11:15 am on Sunday, and when we arrived we got a little scared because lines looked several hours long (mind you this was our very first time visiting and we had no idea what to expect), but they were very organized and pulled people out of the lines according to their tour times, so we didn't have to wait long at all. We had a group of seven and some had language barriers, but our tour guide Jimmy was fantastic. He explained the process throughly and patiently answered any questions we had if we did not understand something (and trust me we had a lot of questions, so big shout out for his patience). He kept us all interested and informed throughout the entire tour. The entire experience was filled with history, sights, and different smells of the production. At the end we got to taste the amazing whiskeys the distillery offered and even made a little combination of creme liquor and root beer, followed by a treat. Out of the the tours we've taken so far, this is the one everyone in our group loved and talked about the most.! read more
Bourbon and views * Stopped in to the distillery while in Kentucky for work. Super glad we did. * It's a little deceiving how large this place is when you pull up. Small gate drive through the opens to the guest area parking. You are greeted with views of the old warehouses where some of the bourbon is held for aging. We did not opt for the tour just to save time in our day of travel but I would recommend taking the tour. I wasn't aware of all the brands/lines of bourbon that BT was making. We did do the tasting so that was a plus. * I ONLY rate 4 stars because they have a daily "drop" of the special offered to taste and buy daily. This day was Weller Reserve (green label). Very nice pour but we were told they rotate to Colonel and some others. Little disappointing to have this type of setup because of our travel and I'm sure many others. We were there one day only so we missed the opportunity for many other potential buys. Not a deal breaker and will definitely be back. They sell the staples daily like Sazerac, Buffalo Trace, etc but I wish you could buy more than just the one daily drop. * All in all, great place, great views, good pours and cool to learn what all they do here. read more
More info about Buffalo Trace Distillery
113 Great Buffalo Trace
Frankfort, KY 40601
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(502) 783-1000
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http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com
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