Buffalo Trace Distillery Tour

WHEN – April 4th, 2023 – 10AM

WHAT – The Trace Tour

WHERE – BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY – FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY

WHY – WE LOVE BOURBON

At the end of March, 2023 we left for a 5 1/2 week RV trip.  Our main destination was Kentucky and Tennessee to do some bourbon and whiskey tasting.

DID YOU KNOW – The Buffalo Trace Distillery tour is not on the Bourbon Trail?  Nope … read all about that here.

FREE  – The tour is free.  It was the only free tour we took in KY and TN.  That’s why it is so hard to make a reservation.

RESERVATIONS – Check the website as you can only book up to 2 months in advance and they go fast.  The reservations open at 10am Eastern time.  We live in California, so we were on the computer at 7am ready to go.  The website actually froze and I ended up getting through and making reservations on my phone.

THE TOUR – I’m always early.  I like to account for time to park, walk, check in, etc…  We arrived in plenty of time and pulled into the parking lot.  There was a HUGE line of people.  We told the guard at the parking lot entrance that we were there for a tour and he told us to go directly to a small building and to not get in that line.  That line of people were waiting for the gift shop to open as they release new bottles daily on a rotating basis.  For locals, you are limited to one bottle per visit, per 90 days.  HERE is the fine print.

After we took our tour, our guide asked us if we’d like to purchase the bottle of the day as he had pulled some aside for us.  YES please!  The were E.H. Taylor Small Batch that day.  Lucky us!

The tour was great.  Such history, great buildings, the smells, the experience.  The tasting was wonderful.  Our tasting included Wheatley Vodka, Buffalo Trace, W.L. Weller, Taylor, Bourbon Cream and Freddie’s Root Beer.  They have you taste half of the Bourbon Cream and half of the Root Beer and then combine them which tastes like a Root Beer Flat.  So Good!!  We bought a bottle of each to take home except the Root Beer. We actually went back later and bought the Root Beer.  When we went back, we checked in at the entrance building.  You get a wrist band that allows you to have a tasting.  And we did what each bourbon lover does, we had another tasting!

TIME ZONES – If you’re visiting Kentucky and Tennessee for the Bourbon Trail or creating your own, like we did, make sure you check the time zones.  KY and TN are split between Eastern Time Zone and Central Time Zone.