Buffalo Trace Distillery sits along the bank of the Kentucky River on the outskirts of Frankfort, Kentucky. It is best known for its eponymous bourbon, Blanton’s small batch bourbon, and the annual release of the Antique Collection of five distinct whiskies. It also produces the famed Van Winkle whiskies in partnership with the Van Winkle family.
The oldest building on the distillery grounds dates to 1792. Distilling may have taken place on site in the early 1800s; the first documented distillery was built on the grounds in 1858. Colonel E. H. Taylor bought this distillery in 1870 and renamed it OFC (for “Old Fashioned Copper” or “Old Fire Copper,” both of which the company used) Distillery. Taylor sold to George T. Stagg in 1878; in 1904 the distillery was renamed for Stagg. It was sold to Schenley Distillers in 1929, then in 1992 to the Sazerac Company, which renamed it Buffalo Trace seven years later. See Sazerac co. After much research, the distillery was confirmed as a National Historic Landmark in 2013.
Buffalo Trace has a well-funded experimental program encompassing all aspects of whisky production, including wood, grain, temperature, yeast, and distillation. The program includes small releases of test whiskies (the Experimental Collection) and full-bottle releases of the Single Oak Project: whiskies aged in carefully tracked barrels made from single oak trees. The distillery also encompasses the E. H. Taylor micro-distillery and Warehouse X, a small, five-bay warehouse testing the effects of light, air, and temperature on aging whisky.
A large expansion is underway on newly acquired land across the river, ensuring future capacity for a long time to come.
See also Blanton’s; whisky, bourbon; and Taylor, Col. E. H.
Buffalo Trace website. http://www.buffalotrace.com/ (accessed February 4, 2021).
Personal interviews with Mark Brown and Harlen Wheatley.
By: Lew Bryson