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Buffalo Trace Distillery

Coordinates: 38°13′03″N 84°52′11″W / 38.217506°N 84.869702°W / 38.217506; -84.869702
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Buffalo Trace Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery with its filtered water reservoir and distillation pipes.
LocationFrankfort, Kentucky
Built1920
ArchitectOberwarth, Leo L.; Blanton, Albert Bacon
Architectural styleRomanesque, Colonial Revival
NRHP reference No.01000450 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 2, 2001

Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery located in Frankfort, Kentucky. It has historically been known by several names, including most notably, the George T. Stagg Distillery and the O.F.C. Distillery.[2] Its namesake bourbon brand, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, was introduced in August 1999. The Buffalo Trace Distillery stands as the oldest continuously-operating distilling site in the United States.[3][unreliable source?] Located where buffalo crossed on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County, the distillery is named after the American bison that created paths followed by America's early pioneers. The Sazerac Company, a New Orleans, Louisiana-based producer and importer, purchased the distillery in 1992 and is now the parent company of Buffalo Trace Distillery.[4]

The distillery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under its old name, George T. Stagg Distillery.[1]

The Buffalo Trace Distillery is home to the world's smallest bonded storage warehouse, Warehouse V. This warehouse only stores a single barrel of whiskey at a time.

History

Records indicate that distilling started on the site that is now the Buffalo Trace Distillery sometime before 1773 by Hancock Lee, who died in 1776.[citation needed] The oldest building on the site, the Riverside house, was constructed in 1792 by Commodore Richard Taylor and is still standing today. The distillery was constructed in 1812 by Harrison Blanton. In 1870 the distillery was purchased by Edmund H. Taylor and given its first name, the O.F.C. Distillery. Taylor sold the distillery eight years later to George T. Stagg. In 1886, Stagg installed steam heating in the storage warehouses, the first climate controlled warehouse for aging whiskey in the nation.[5]

In 1972 Gary Gayheart became the master distiller. After his retirement in 2005, he was succeeded by Harlen Wheatley.

In 2009 and 2010, the Buffalo Trace Oral History Project was conducted by the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Spirits

Buffalo Trace bourbon whiskey
See also: List of bourbon brands

While Buffalo Trace Distillery is mainly known for its bourbon, it also produces other spirits such as rye whiskey and vodka. "Buffalo Trace" is a bourbon brand made by the Distillery. It was introduced in August 1999, two months after the distillery changed its name from the George T. Stagg Distillery. Buffalo Trace is made from corn, rye, and barley malt, and aged in charred oak barrels. Approximately 25–30 barrels are selected and mixed before bottling. It has won some awards since its introduction.[6]

The following spirits are produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery:[7]

List of Buffalo Trace Brands
Label Type of Spirit Style Notes Distributor
Ancient Age Kentucky Straight Bourbon Ancient Age Distillery
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon Blanton Distilling
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Buffalo Trace Distillery
Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon Old Prentice Company
Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon Buffalo Trace Distillery
George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon Barrel proof Buffalo Trace Distillery
Hancock's President's Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Buffalo Trace Distillery
Old Charter Kentucky Straight Bourbon Old Charter Distillery
McAfee's Benchmark Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel Bourbon Rock Hill Farms
Van Winkle Wheated Bourbon Old Rip Van Winkle
W.L. Weller Wheated Bourbon W. L. Weller and Sons
Rain Vodka 100% organic white corn Buffalo Trace Distillery
Sazerac Rye Whiskey Buffalo Trace Distillery
Thomas H. Handy Rye Whiskey Barrel proof Buffalo Trace Distillery

Some bourbons produced at the distillery have performed well in international spirit ratings competitions. Buffalo Trace bourbon received a Double Gold Rating at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2012.[8] Eagle Rare received a Gold medal in the 2010 competition [9] Van Winkle The 12 Year Old Special Reserve was recognized with the "Trophy for Worldwide Whisky" and a Best-In-Class Gold Medallion in the International Wine and Spirit Competition for 2008.[10][11]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ Lew Bryson. "Bourbon Company, Bourbon Man Buffalo Trace Distillery & Mark Brown". Malt Advocate. Malt Advocate, Inc. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  3. ^ "Buffalo Trace Distillery". Internet Wines. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  4. ^ "The Buffalo Trace Distilling Company". ellenjaye.com. 2001. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  5. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). National Park Service. March 13, 2001. p. 33. Retrieved January 31, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "Critical Acclaim". Buffalo Trace Distillery. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  7. ^ "Great Bourbon". Buffalo Trace Distillery. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  8. ^ http://www.proof66.com/whiskey/buffalo-trace-bourbon.html
  9. ^ http://www.sfspiritscomp.com/pdfs/2010SpiritsResultsbyBrand.pdf
  10. ^ http://www.sfspiritscomp.com/pdfs/SpiritsMedal08.pdf
  11. ^ http://www.oldripvanwinkle.com/newbs/vw/website3.nsf/pagesbyname/home?opendocument

38°13′03″N 84°52′11″W / 38.217506°N 84.869702°W / 38.217506; -84.869702

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