Buffalo Trace

So next on the list of distilleries is Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace makes several whiskies including Van Winkle, Eagle Rare and Barton's. The trip from Ft. Knox to Frankfort took about an hour and a half and we arrived just in time for the tour. We were told the tour would take about 45 minutes to an hour and we were game for that.

We started out side with the aging warehouses which were about 7 stories tall. Where the barrel was placed in the warehouse was what determined which bourbon it would be labeled with. Once the barrel was placed in the warehouse, it was not moved until it was ready to be bottled. All of the premium bourbons were from the middle floors of the warehouse which had the most temperature changes. Those were the bourbons with the most flavor from the barrels.

After the distilling process, the "white dog" (ever clear) was placed into the barrels and rolled to the warehouse through a series of tracks. These tracks led to an elevator which placed the barrels onto floors in the warehouse.

After that , we went into the bottling room where they hand bottled all of the premium bourbon. When we were there, they were bottling Barton's and Eagle Rare. The folks in the bottling room were fun and very informative. Our tour guide explained that the production bourbon was bottled in another area of the property and if you wanted to take that tour, it was later on in the day. We opted out of that tour and decided to go right to he tasting. we tasted the Buffalo Trace 9 yr. old and the Eagle Rare 10 yr. old. Buffalo Trace is a small batch bourbon which could use anywhere between 25 to 75 barrels to get the right taste. Eagle Rare is a single barrel bourbon which uses only one barrel and bottles from that barrel only. The Eagle Rare had a nice bold flavor with a spice finish that was pleasing to the palette. The Buffalo Trace had a smoother flavor and not quite the spice but with hints of vanilla and a slight creaminess to it.

All in all, some fine Bourbon from these folks. They also have an Antique Collection which consist of George T Stagg 15 yr old, Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old, Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, William Larue Weller uncut and unfiltered and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac uncut and unfiltered. The Weller was bottled at 143 proof at the last bottling. The Antique Collection only comes out once a year in September and usually is gone before it is shipped. You can reserve it with your local liquor store so get on the list now.