Buffalo Trace Distillery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buffalo Trace Distillery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Buffalo Trace Distillery with its filtered water reservoir and distillation pipes.
Buffalo Trace Distillery with its filtered water reservoir and distillation pipes.
Location: Frankfort, Kentucky
Built/Founded: 1920
Architect: Oberwarth, Leo L.; Blanton, Albert Bacon
Architectural style(s): Romanesque, Colonial Revival
Added to NRHP: May 02, 2001
NRHP Reference#: 01000450

[1]
Governing body: Private

Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery located in Frankfort, Kentucky. Since 1815 it has been known by several names, including most notably, the George T. Stagg Distillery and O.F.C. Distillery.[2] Its flagship bourbon, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey was introduced in August 1999. Buffalo Trace Distillery stands as the oldest distilling site in the United States.[3] Located on what was once an ancient buffalo crossing on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County, the distillery's namesake is a tribute to the American bison that created paths followed by America's early pioneers. The Sazerac Company, a New Orleans, LA (USA)-based producer and importer purchased the distillery in 1988 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.

Contents

[edit] 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. The oldest building on the site, the Riverside house, was constructed in 1792 by Commodore Richard Taylor and is still standing today. The first true distillery was construced 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 along with the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery. This second distillery was sold within the year to James Graham in order to add more land to the O.F.C. Distillery. In 1886 Stagg installed steam heating in the storage warehouses, the first climate controlled warehouse for aging whiskey in the nation.

[edit] Gallery

Warehouses used to store and age bourbon barrels

Statue of the golden buffalo, the namesake of Buffalo Trace Distillery, located in the distillery meadow

Grounds and guest house at the Buffalo Trace Distillery

The master distiller's residence

[edit] Spirits

While Buffalo Trace Distillery is mainly known for its bourbon, it also produces other spirits such as rye whiskey and vodka. The following list of spirits are produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery:[5]


See also: List of bourbon brands
List of Buffalo Trace Brands
Label Type of Spirit Alcohol % Years Aged Style Notes Distributor
Ancient Age Kentucky Straight Bourbon 4 Ancient Age Distillery
Ancient Age Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon 53.5% 10 Barrel proof Ancient Age Distillery
Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star Kentucky Straight Bourbon 43% 6 Ancient Age Distillery
Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon 10 Ancient Age Distillery
Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon 48% 10 to 12 Blanton Distilling
Blanton's (Gold Edition) Single Barrel Bourbon 51.5% 12 to 14 Blanton Distilling
Blanton's (Silver Edition) Single Barrel Bourbon 49% 12 to 14 Blanton Distilling
Blanton's (Special Reserve) Single Barrel Bourbon 40% 10 Blanton Distilling
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon 45% 9 Buffalo Trace Distillery
Eagle Rare 17 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon 45% 17 Old Prentice Company
Eagle Rare Single Barrel Single Barrel Bourbon 45% 10 Old Prentice Company
Elmer T. Lee Kentucky Straight Bourbon 45% 14 Buffalo Trace Distillery
George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon 64.5% 70.3% 15 Barrel proof Buffalo Trace Distillery
Hancock's President's Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon 44.45% 8 to 10 Barrel proof Buffalo Trace Distillery
Old Charter 08 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon 8 Old Charter Distillery
Old Charter 10 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon 43% 10 Old Charter Distillery
Old Charter 12 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon 12 Old Charter Distillery
McAfee's Benchmark Kentucky Straight Bourbon 40%
Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel Bourbon 8 Rock Hill Farms
Old Rip Van Winkle Wheated Bourbon 10 Old Rip Van Winkle
Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye Rye Whiskey 10 Old Rip Van Winkle
Van Winkle Special Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon 12 Old Rip Van Winkle
Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20 Year Wheated Bourbon 20 Old Rip Van Winkle
Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 23 Year Wheated Bourbon 23 Old Rip Van Winkle
W.L. Weller Special Reserve Wheated Bourbon 7 W. L. Weller and Sons
W.L. Weller Antique Wheated Bourbon 7 W. L. Weller and Sons
W.L. Weller "Centennial" Wheated Bourbon 10 W. L. Weller and Sons
W.L. Weller 12 Year Wheated Bourbon 45% 12 W. L. Weller and Sons
William Larue Weller Wheated Bourbon 60.95% 12 Uncut & unfiltered W. L. Weller and Sons
Rain Vodka 40% n/a 100% organic white corn Buffalo Trace Distillery
Sazerac Rye Whiskey 18 Buffalo Trace Distillery
Thomas H. Handy Rye Whiskey 66.35% 8 to 9 Barrel proof Buffalo Trace Distillery
Benchmark XO Kentucky Straight Bourbon 47%
Benchmark Premium Kentucky Straight Bourbon 40%

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  2. ^ Lew Bryson. Bourbon Company, Bourbon Man Buffalo Trace Distillery & Mark Brown. Malt Advocate. Malt Advocate, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  3. ^ Buffalo Trace Distillery. Internet Wines (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-23 12:34 a.m..
  4. ^ The Buffalo Trace Distilling Company. ellenjaye.com (2001). Retrieved on 2007-09-23 12:34 a.m..
  5. ^ Bourbon Brands