FRANKFORT, Ky. — Buffalo Trace Distillery set a new visitation record, welcoming more than 340,000 guests to the National Historic Landmark Distillery in 2021. This is a 134 percent increase in the number of visitors it welcomed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a 16 percent increase in the number of visitors it welcomed in 2019. Since 2010, visitation to Buffalo Trace has increased by 556 percent.
The Distillery completed a massive expansion of its Visitor Center in 2020 during the onset of the pandemic. The Visitor Center triples the size of the previous Visitor Center conveniently allows for easier social distancing and providing ample space and comfort for guests exploring the Gift Shop or tasting in the new expansive tasting rooms.
But with visitation continuing to grow at pre-pandemic rates, the Distillery is making further adjustments. To further accommodate the increasing number of guests as they arrive to the Distillery, Buffalo Trace is renovating its historical Freehouse, located in the visitor parking lot into a full welcome center.
Over the past year, this space has served as the visitor COVID health and safety check-in. The renovations, which are anticipated to be completed by mid-February 2022, will allow the Distillery to check-in visitors for all activities within the same space by early March. The building will retain its historically significant design features and be updated to support the modern needs of visitors, including reservation check-in and WiFi. Plans also include updated landscaping and murals for photo opportunities for arriving visitors.
Tours of Buffalo Trace Distillery remain complimentary. In order to better accommodate social
distancing, the Distillery is limiting tour group sizes and accepts tour visitors by reservation only. As the number of guests visiting the Distillery has increased, Buffalo Trace has accordingly increased the number of tours and tastings offered, though tours continue to book quickly.
Registrations for the Trace Tour, Old Taylor Tour, Bourbon Barrel Tour and Expansion Tour can be made at https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/visit-us.html. All tours are complimentary and include a socially distanced tasting. Operating hours for Buffalo Trace Distillery are 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday. To visit the Distillery’s online gift shop, visit https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/shop.html.
Click here for more Bourbon Flight news.
Click here to sign up for The Bourbon Flight Newsletter.
