Frankfort and Buffalo Trace Distillery

When it comes to outings, I think the method Isaac and I use works well for us. I research, throw out the occasional gauging question to test his interest and thoughts, then off we go. Last Saturday morning we were sitting around when this happened. We are at that stage where we are most comfortable and happy just hanging out together at home. But because it was Memorial Day weekend, it seemed like we should do something special. And so I asked, "Hey, you wanna visit a bourbon distillery today? It's about an hour away and the tour's free." I could already tell his interest was peaked. "It's where they make Blanton's and Pappy Van Winkle." A short time later, we changed out of our pajamas and were on our way to Buffalo Trace Distillery.

We have passed its brown sign on interstate 64 a few times while driving between Lexington and Louisville. The distillery is located just north of downtown Frankfort, so we figured we would grab a bite to eat as we pass through, giving us a chance to see the state's capital as well.

Frankfort was a huge surprise to us both. You get off the interstate and onto a highway that loops around the top of the city. I don't guess it's considered mountainous, but this area has lovely terrain that reminds me of the mountains - you drive through sections of cut rock and there are valleys and high hills all around. You can see what I mean below, this is a shot of highway 127 that swings around Frankfort.

Very beautiful and remote feeling. Continuing on, we cross the Kentucky River which runs through the city's heart. Looking at the picture below, I wouldn't have guessed that this winds through a state's capital city.

And then we arrived at a stoplight. According to our map, we were in the heart of Frankfort. Boy, is it charming. Surprisingly small and oozing with that old fashioned American town feeling.

We will have to go back and explore some time, but other than the state house, it doesn't seem like there's much to be seen. After scarfing down a quesadilla and enchilada at record speed, we took off for the main attraction.

Buffalo Trace Distillery prides itself on being the longest continuously running bourbon distillery in the world. It opened in 1786 and was one of the lucky few given permission by the US government to continue operating during prohibition. They offer several free tours of the grounds and facilities. We went on their standard Trace Tour which offers a brief overview of the distillery, the bourbon making process and a taste testing.

Upon arriving, Isaac and I were both surprised at how beautiful the grounds were. It's not that we had any expectations for what it would look like, our decision was too spontaneous for that. I would expect a winery to be beautiful - with endless rows of grape vines - but a distillery doesn't carry the same romance. Never ending seas of corn and grains perhaps?

Anyways, the entrance to Buffalo Trace looked like a country club. Brilliant green Kentucky bluegrass, sharp landscaping, old metal and brick structures offset against a blue sky.

There is a two story gift shop, bar and lounge where you can kill time browsing, drinking and learning a little more about the place.

Below is an enlarged copy of a prescription written for bourbon during the prohibition era. It seems like there were a lot of sickly people needing the stuff, our tour guide told us that 6 million prescriptions were written for bourbon in Kentucky alone during that time.

There was also a long list of all of the distilleries in Kentucky. Only a handful of the names survived the Prohibition Era. 

When Prohibition ended, there was a spike in demand for bourbon and the distillery was in a hurry to expand. This is the reason the building shown below was built out of metal, to get it up as quickly as possible. This place, known as warehouse H, is where Blanton's is made, a popular and nice quality bourbon.

If you just walk near these buildings, the smell of bourbon permeates the air. The tour guide said he liked to think about the shadowy coating on the outside of the buildings as bourbon patina, not mold.

Walking inside this warehouse, it looked about like you would imagine. Long rows of wooden barrels stacked on top of each other, with the finer quality products on the bottom floors. It is dark, cool and of course smells like bourbon. We were breathing in "the angel's share" of the alcohol.

Doesn't Isaac look like the entrepreneur of some new start up company?

He was reluctant to leave this place.

Next stop was a bottling area where Blanton's bourbon is put into glass bottles, corked, sealed with wax and labeled.

Above are bottles from their recent Single Oak Project. This was a neat and large scale experiment in which they created 192 unique barrels of bourbon, varying different factors in the bourbon making process like age of oak tree, growing location of oak tree, degree of wood charring and grain ratio. All 192 different recipes were taste-tested and a winning barrel was announced. They are now in the process of recreating winning barrel #80 and will have it ready to sell in 2025.

That's something I never considered about making spirits like this, the amount of time it takes. Our tour guide said that in recent years, there has been a huge spike in demand for bourbon. But for distilleries, they can't immediately crank up production to meet the increased appetites. It takes many years - anywhere from 8 to 23 at this distillery - to produce a product. They have increased production now, buying up a nearby farm and building many new warehouses, but perhaps by the time the bourbon is ready in a decade or two, demand will have slowed down again.

One of this distillery's most coveted products is Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Usually liquor sellers these days hold lotteries to determine which customers are given the privilege to buy a bottle from the short supply they receive. Our tour guide said just eight years ago, they had bottles of it available in their gift shop to buy. Now, it seems your best chance at buying it is online at ridiculously inflated prices.

We finished our tour with a complimentary taste-testing. Of course they didn't offer their higher end products, but it was still fun to try and pretend like we're liquor experts. Below from left to right is vodka, white dog (unaged bourbon, the same mix just not stored in a barrel for years), an 8 and then 10 year bourbon. I knew I didn't like vodka, and had suspicions I'd feel the same way about moonshine. I just sort of kissed all four of the liquids, just enough to feel the burn, but I'm glad I tried at least. 

Next came the much more enjoyable part, dessert. Bourbon balls, chocolates with a bourbon flavored center, and bourbon cream which they recommend serving with root beer. The combination was dangerously delicious, like a grown up root beer float.

This was the end of our tour, but we still wanted to walk around a little bit, and explore a few buildings on a map we had received. The grounds are really beautiful, like a park with old brick and metal pipes popping up all around.

Below was originally a guest house, but now serves as the president's office. The house and other buildings nearby are built in a style introduced by early settlers. I wish I could remember which European countries the map mentioned, because the style is super cute! If you recognize it, please let me know!

This large building is used for special events. I imagine it doesn't get much more Kentuckian than to get married at a bourbon distillery. They were setting up for a wedding when we peeked in the windows.

As we walked around this pretty scenery, we wondered how other distilleries on the Bourbon Trail would compare. There are many such places in Kentucky, and some people make a vacation of visiting them all. We both agreed that it would be hard to beat this place - its beauty, the prestige of its products, the price! In South Korea, we tried to make the most of our surroundings by trying out its many delicious restaurants. It seems like making the most of living in Kentucky might involve touring its many bourbon distilleries.