A free tour, that lasts about an hour, Buffalo Trace should definitely be on your list. Although you don't get to see their corn mash facility, it is fun to see their production lines and rickhouse as the work of the day goes on at a brisk pace. The tasting is free, and their gift shop has almost anything for the bourbon fan ,except for pappy van winkle ; ( The grounds are quite large, and you should do the short self guided walking tour to really get a sense of the place. The fragrant sweet corn scent is really something special as it fills up the entire area! read more

After seeing the rest, Buffalo Trace is the best. You won't get a stamp on your Bourbon Trail passport, but it should be #1 on your places to visit while in Bourbon Country. The distillery is absolutely beautiful and brimming with history, not to mention quality hooch. We were lucky enough to get in a tour led by Freddy, a 3rd generation Buffalo Trace employee. This amazing man made the tour an experience of a lifetime. He clearly takes a great deal of pride in his role and it makes all the difference. Not only was he the best tour guide at Buffalo Trace, he was the best tour guide of every distillery we visited. Do yourself a favor. Forget the passport, go to Buffalo Trace, and get Freddy as your tour guide. You won't be disappointed. read more

We did the hard hat tour to start our Bourbon tasting weekend, and it was perfect! Our tour guide had 23 years in the business, mostly distilling. We walked away with the most knowledge of Bourbon from this tour. The tasting included chocolate. You won my heart with knowledge, tasting Bourbon throughout the process, and chocolate. read more

Such a great distillery! Conveniently located near UK's college campus in Lexington, KY. We had a great tour guide and took the tasting tour, which included some liquor flights. Great to know this distillery is only about 2 hours south of Cincinnati, so it makes for a great day trip with family and friends! read more

We toured 10 distilleries and Buffalo Trace hands down had the most knowledgeable tour guide. Tour is free. Grounds are gorgeous and historic, oldest continuously operating distillery as it was one of a handful given permission to operate during prohibition. Much more up close and personal than any other tour, we were able to walk amongst the staff as they were bottling. Highly recommend including this stop on your Bourbon Trail. read more

The tour guide was very nice and informative! It was good for the family because they offer bourbon, vodka, bourbon cream, & root beer at the end of the tour! Some of the smaller children didn't like the strong smell of alcohol in most of the buildings but other than that they enjoyed it. Try the bourbon cream and root beer together in the shot glass! It was amazing read more

Base Trace Tour had a knowledgeable and fun guide, but the tour is light - little demonstration of the process. And while there is much made of the many varied whiskeys from their formulas the tasting offers nothing in way of exploring that diversity. read more

Wonderful tour, good tasting offered. Excellent considering it was free. I thought the grounds were beautiful and our tour guide very knowledgeable and thoroughly enjoyed his job. Very happy we opted to do the full tour at this location! read more

Could not be more impressed with the tour, the manicured grounds, friendly staff, and fantastic gift shop.

Tour was great! We loved Fred! Very knowledgeable and you could tell he loved his job which made it great. Buildings are old so adds to the charisma. Got to see storage areas and workers bottling the bourbon. read more

What a great tour. Did not get into nuts & bolts of the distilling process but rather into the history & culture. Jimmy our tour guide was informative and funny. The bottling plant where the single barrel bourbon is hand packed--very impressive. Tried the bourbon cream liqueur. Didn't think I'd like it but it was great. Very worthwhile and fun tour. read more

My girlfriend and I just finished up our trip on the bourbon trail and our tour at Buffalo Trace blew all of the distilleries on the trail out of the water. Our guide was incredibly nice, friendly and knowledgable. You can smell the angel's share all over the Buffalo Trace grounds. Unlike other tours, you get to go into the rickhouse and into the bottling area, where you see the workers do all of the bottling by hand. The tasting at the end was also very good, giving you options from among very good bourbon and even throwing in a tasting of the bourbon cream for free! This is a must-do for sure! read more

If Freddie can be your guide you'll have the best distillery experience ever. Very informative, he had the skills of an educator. He led us through the different kinds of bourbon and made it all understandable. The place is beautiful with a very understated entrance. Beware! As far as the bourbon itself my husband liked the Rare Eagle best but I really liked the Bourbon cream. And the bourbon candy was delicious! read more

I probably can't say anything about Buffalo Trace that hasn't been said, but I had to leave a review. This isn't polished like Woodford or trendy like Willett. This is down home, old fashioned bourbon. Be ready to get hot (or cold, depending on season) during the tour. You'll taste the White Dog, smell the barrels, and chat with the bottling crew. Like so many others, I'll say - do the hard hat tour. Book it well in advance - check the website for the email to do so. Everyone there was awesome, especially Fred and Dave. We did three tours while we were there - spent nearly all day at the distillery. They aren't on the Bourbon Trail because they don't need ot be - it's a destination all to itself. read more

Great tour though not on the official Bourbon Trail it is still free and better than most. Overall just a great experience at a really nice location. Very detailed tour with knowledgeable tour guides. read more

Had a really enjoyable tour with Freddie. Very informative and funny. He skipped the movie, but I have to image his stories were more entertaining than the movie. We did not get to walk the grounds, but I would like to go back to do that. read more

Buffalo Trace Ghost Tour - We went on the Ghost Tour (at night) and had a really good time. There were six of us from Lexington and we laughed all the way through the tour. (Our guide helped make it fun ;-)). I want to go back during the day and see the facilities in daylight, for the grounds looks beautiful. The ghost tour is brief, but good. My wife kept taking pictures hoping to catch a "spirit" in the background, but we didn't see anything scary, but we did learn about BT and we did get to try some of their bourbon and their bourbon balls. Definitely worth going on this tour (BTW- it's free, but you have to make reservations early for they only allow a few per tour). Also, keep in mind, you get on a small bus and go into a few buildings, thus bring your jacket if it is cold out. read more

By now you probably know that the Buffalo Trace Distillery is not on the Bourbon Trail. I'm okay with that - we did the tour (tours, actually) anyway, primarily because I'm a big fan of Blanton's Bourbon, but the history of the place and the beauty of the grounds were a huge attraction, as well. Also, the tours are all free, and our trip to Buffalo Trace was our favorite of the 12 distilleries that we visited! I found it a bit irritating that others charge, as much as $14/person! But that's just me, apparently. Other tours were well attended and I didn't hear any grumbling. We opted to spend the day at Buffalo Trace, and took advantage of three of the tours that they offer. Beware, however, that you'll want to make reservations (on line), and probably well in advance, for these tours. They do offer a generic tour that accepts walk-ins, so a last minute decision to visit won't disappoint! I think our guide for the Barrel Tour and the National Historic Landmark Tour was "Shelly". She was adequate, as a guide, although she seemed to lose her train of thought quite often. We had heard and read good things about "Freddie", but we never saw him. Our guide on the Hard Hat Tour was "Fred" (not to be confused with "Freddie"), and he was a pretty entertaining guide. He obviously enjoys the job and gets on well with people. It was unfortunate that our two guides gave different answers as to what "OFC" stands for, however. Each claimed to have been at Buffalo Trace for many years and they should have been on the same page with that answer. We even had lunch at their cafe, The Fire House. Pretty good sandwiches (cole slaw was only so-so), and the baked beans were very good, with a huge hunk of bacon/fat! read more

Not sure when this distillery is not on the bourbon trail, but you need to make this a part of your tour. Beautiful ground and many historic buildings, plus some amazing bourbon. Our tour guide was well informed and passionate about what he did. Would have like to see more that just two buildings on the tour. read more

My husband and I absolutely loved this tour - Freddie, a 3rd generation employee, led such a fantastic, entertaining and robust tour. He was funny (truly had us lol-ing) and his knowledge spans so many years, you feel like you're getting the full, true history. He seems genuinely happy to be there (how many of us can say that about our jobs!) and was just an all around pleasant guy. Well done Freddie! The grounds are beautiful and well-cared for and the tastings at the end were perfect. I'm not even a huge bourbon drinker, but I was super entertained the whole time and would even go back again if I'm ever in town. AND it's FREE! We went to Beam & Makers where it was $10 & $9 per person. Buffalo Trace was by far my favorite! read more

Fabulous and free ghost tour!! Very informative and ended with a Burbon and vodka tasting. Great night!

We had a very good tour, basic chemistry explanations, history, enjoyed the smells and sites!!! The tasting was great.

This was my first time on a bourbon tour, but I believe I may be hooked. Our guide was very informative. Not only on the history of the facility but on the history of bourbon. read more

Signed up for the Buffalo Trace Hard Hat tour and David was our tour guide. This was the first tour we had set up in Bourbon Country and this one raised the bar. David was extremely enthusiastic, friendly, personable and knowledgeable. He had great information that appealed to those that knew very little about bourbon as well as those that already have a knowledge base. I was amazed that we were allowed to walk through the room with the grains, get up close to the stills and taste the cooking mash. I kept thinking, "Are you sure it's okay for us to be in here?" As we walked up and down stairs, down hallways and pathways, we got an accurate look on how the distillery runs and how busy it is at all times. Other people working there said hello and seemed happy to answer questions. David took us in a rickhouse and into a building where Blanton's was being bottled. The tour was phenomenal and set the bar for the rest of what we did in Kentucky. I highly recommend the Hard Hat tour and recommend David as a tour guide. read more

I was at Buffalo Trace on April 22, and had missed my appointment for the hard hat tour. It was just as well as it gave me some very special time with the tasting room manager FREDDIE! What an absolute gentleman and the perfect host. He could give many people in this country a lesson in real manners and hospitality. I told him my husband and myself were total fans of the Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old whiskey and I was disappointed I couldn't buy any at the distillery. ( I guess you couldn't get it anywhere with the Derby coming up. I think there was some hoarding going on...) Anyway, Freddie took me through a very informative tasting of the Buffalo Trace whiskies and then took me on a short tour of the barrel house. It smelled so good in there. Thank you Freddie, for the wonderful afternoon. My husband is enjoying the Buffalo Trace Whiskey and the Whiskey Cream. You made my stay in Kentucky so memorable. Best to you, Judy from Lake Tahoe read more

While certainly fun if you are into distilleries many may find it is not worth the trouble. The tour is fairly long (I left after 1.5 hours) though it does give you a full look into the Whiskey-Bourbon process. Additionally, you will most likely feel pressured to buy a bottle of whiskey at its conclusion. Still, totally free and if you come around lunch time they have a good place for BBQ. read more

Take the tour with Freddy! I guarantee you won't be disappointed. You are in for a treat. This distillery was the best of our stops by far. The grounds are beautiful and the history is the longest of the distilleries in the area. read more

I walked onto the grounds and immediately tried to stick this entire place up my nose. The smell is absolutely incredible. Woodsy, bourbony, delicious. Headed out to Frankfort for a tour during Derby weekend and was super impressed with the operation. Everyone here is ridiculously nice, from the president of Buffalo Trace right on down to the tour guides and the security guards (Coincidentally you don't even need security guards. I tried to make off with a barrel of E.H. Taylor and threw out my back.You can't steal shit here.). The tour was great and I especially liked being able to traipse around in the rickhouse. They have a nice visitors center and gift shop where I got a bad ass Old Rip glencairn glass and the prices there are actually fairly reasonable. We also had lunch at the barbecue joint on site and it was a very pleasant surprise. The shoulder I had was great. Buffalo Trace was already my favorite distillery but is even more so now after our great experience on the tour. read more

Toured the Buffalo Trace Distillery last weekend - the four stars comes with an explanation - we did the straight up tour and it was okay - probably more like 2.5 - 3 stars - especially on a weekend when the Blanton's bottling line was not running. And it was cold - so the tour was a short talk in the welcome center - a short cold talk just outside the welcome center then a video on how bourbon is made - which was the problem - I don't go to a distillery for a video, I want to see the process - we did get a short walk into a rick house and saw many barrels then moved to the bottling line which would have been cool if it had been running. Finished in their beautiful tasting room - really liked that they offer two of four different choices and the pour actually lets to have two sips so you taste the bourbon. The guide was great as were the helpful folks around the tasting bar. And it is free - so awesome. So why four stars - I talked to friends who did the Hard Hat Tour and they said it was great and I screwed up - no prior planning on my part. Will make another trip to do the more in-depth tour. The facility is nice located right along the Kentucky river and (on a nice day) would be pleasant just to walk around the grounds. Did I mention it is free. read more

wow, the bourbon smell that greets you in the parking lot is wonderful. That said, the parking lot is huge, and it will likely take you a few minutes to find an open space. This place was packed on a Friday mid-day. There are free tastings which is a nice plus. read more

Did you ever sacrifice your time for a loved one? Of course, you have! That is what I thought I was doing when my husband and I recently took a road trip to Kentucky after flying into Nashville. Since my husband is the bourbon fan, I knew that at some point on our road trip I'd have to patiently listen to tour guides drone on as he threw a "few" samples back. Fortunately, Bourbon Trace was one of designated stops. I was pleasantly surprised. No, make that blown away by our tour guide, Freddie. Although all the staff at Buffalo Trace is kind and friendly, Freddie is the star of the show. He is an entertaining storyteller and an amazing teacher. As an educator myself, I was shocked to see a small child (obviously dragged there by his parents) enthralled by Freddie's animated explanation of the distilling process. It wasn't too much detail. Just enough. The stories were full of rich history, and Freddie's passion for his job and connection with BT was evident. Of course, the tour ended with a tasting. The pours were generous and topped off with a bourbon candy. Did I mention that all of this was free? Oh, yes. It was, but I would've paid handsomely for the fun experience of "waking up the dog". You have to go to know. If you're ever in Kentucky, make a point to take a tour at Buffalo Trace. Please tell Freddie the cute couple from PA said howdy:-) read more

We had the best tour guide today at the distillery! Make sure to ask for Freddie, he was funny, informative and talked to all levels of bourbon lovers. Definitely recommend and will go back! read more

I loved this place so much that we came back for a second tour in the same day! It wasn't in our Bourbon Trail passport, but we visited anyways because this is home to some of our favorite brands! The first tour we went on was the Hard Hat tour. No hard hats were required, but we got to see all the nitty gritty that goes into making bourbon. All of my questions were answered very well and the tour guide was informative about the bourbon making process as well as the history of the distillery. Later that evening we came back for the Ghost Tour. We started at Stony Point the home (and place of death) of Col. Blanton. After getting cozy by the fire in the living room our tour guide began recounting stories of his own as well as stories from other staff members. I didn't see or hear anything myself, but there were definitely chills up my spine! I was a little worried that both tours were going to be pretty similar, but they were so completely different that I highly recommend folks to do both if you have the time! We walked around a couple of other places on the property and finally ended up with our second tasting of the day. All in all my FAVORITE stop on our bourbon tour! read more

Wow- this place is fantastic. We did THREE of the tours - the Bourbon tour, KY History Tour and Ghost Tour. Freddie, our history tour guide, went above and beyond and really made it special for our small girls who were with us. These tours are not only top-notch for learning about the distillery and prohibition, but just in learning about the history of the area as well. Plus, I am 150% a convert to Bourbon Creme (Bailey's doesn't hold a candle to this stuff!) - the tastings at the end are awesome, and, although I didn't like any Bourbon before, by the end, once I'd learned the history and the story, I developed a taste for it and even learned how to "slowly introduce it to my palate". I highly, highly recommend these tours - especially the history and bourbon ones! read more

Commercial. Go to the smaller distilleries for a much better experience. Gift shop does not even sell the stuff worth buying. They have a "souvenir" license. Bourbon cream is fantastic. read more

My cousins, brother, and I hired a tour bus to check out different distilleries on the Bourbon trail. We only had time to see 3-4, so we painstakingly planned, thinking we had selected the best 3. Our Buffalo Trace tour was incredibly disappointing. The guide glossed over the technical information about bourbon & the bourbon-making process (not a big deal since we'd been to two others). We saw a few buildings with empty barrels, and one warehouse with full barrels, but that was about it (big difference compared to Jim Beam and Makers Mark tours). The guide was fairly unprofessional and complained that she had to work on a Saturday. My brother asked a few questions, and she was pretty dismissive. The tasting portion was OK; they had us sample white dog, vodka, buffalo trace, eagle, and bourbon cream. Sadly, they really don't sell any of their big stuff in the store. We had specifically chosen this distillery because my cousins like Blantons, Pappy Van Winkle, and other hard-to-find bourbons. Their store sold had nothing but vodka on hand. It was a free tour, but wasn't worth the time we took getting there. Having seen the enthusiasm of their representative in the "Neat" documentary, we were really disappointed at the poor tour we received. read more

Not on the official bourbon trail but really worth the stop. We took the FREE Trace Tour, and David our tour guide was very informative, interesting and you could tell he genuinely enjoyed educating people about bourbon. He was willing to talk as little or a much as the group wanted. At the end, we tasted (generous pours unlike all of the stops on the bourbon trail) their white dog, their Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and their Bourbon Cream which was amazing mixed with root beer, which they provided. We bought a bottle of the cream, and we love the bourbon too, my favorite next to Makers Mark. You can also just go to taste their bourbon for free as well, if you don't want to go on the tour. Side note: we had wanted to go on the hard hat tour but it required a reservation, I tried to book it 2 days in advance and it was already booked up (they only have 1 on Saturdays at 10:30am). read more

Jimmy gives a great tour and is very knowledgeable about bourban. Learned so much during the hard hat tour. The other staff are friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend. read more

This one of the best experiences I ever had in a while. The history of the distillery, the bourbon industry, and the tour were all provided by one of the most personable and informative tour guides ever. When you go ask for Freddie, a third generation employee. This is worth the money and time even if you're not a bourbon person. read more

The grounds and property at the oldest distillery are beautiful. I could walk around the property for hours enjoying the scenery. My fiancé and I took the free tour on a Saturday afternoon. The crowds weren't bad at all and we only had to wait about ten minutes until the next tour began. The plus side to this tour is that it is free. Some of the other tours on the property require reservations, but the main one is walk-up and go on the next available tour. The guide was fairly good. I've had better tour guides on distillery tours and I've had worse. My fiancé really liked the tour guide's humor so he enjoyed it a lot. The tour was mostly informational, got to see a few of the various buildings, but not much to see on the actual process of distilling. That's okay as I've seen it numerous times elsewhere so it will still very enjoyable. At the end of the a little over an hour tour there is a free tasting. They allow you a choice of 2 of the 4 choices and then you get a bourbon ball and the bourbon cream. This is always by the far the best part of distillery tours. The tasting room is also in the upstairs loft which was very cozy. I learned a lot more about Buffalo Trace than I had before as it's not been one of my favorites in the past. Who knew that Blantons was the first small batch... interesting tour. Definitely worth taking a look when down in Frankfort, especially to enjoy beautiful scenery and some delicious bourbon. read more