Blanton’s is back! Buffalo Trace says distillery has resumed bottling premium bourbon
After more than a weeklong shutdown because of Kentucky River floodwaters, Buffalo Trace Distillery has resumed bottling.
The Frankfort distiller said craft bottling inside the Blanton’s Bottling Hall, as well as the main bottling hall, have resumed.
According to the news release, removal of flood water debris and damage is more than 75% complete, and power has been restored to key areas of the distillery.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our contractors and dedicated teams, we’ve made tremendous progress in the Distillery’s flood recovery plan. While there’s still work to be done, the resilience and determination demonstrated this past week is truly inspiring,” said Jake Wenz, Sazerac & Buffalo Trace Distillery CEO and president, in a statement. “Each day significant progress is made, allowing the distillery to return to normal operations and I am optimistic that, with this same spirit, we’ll be operating normally soon. We want to thank all of the contractors, our leaders, and our team members for their hard work.”
Limited reservations, visitors to distillery
Buffalo Trace began welcoming some visitors back on Monday, April 1,4 with a limited retail experience that included a small pop-up shop inside the Freehouse building and tastings in an outdoor canopy. The distillery remains closed to the public except to those with tour reservations. No tours or walk-ups are allowed yet, according to the release. Reservations may be allowed online if capacity allows.
The distillery also said that relief initiatives to support the community will be coming; for now, you can donate to the Franklin County Flood Relief Fund through the Blue Grass Community Foundation.
The distillery, which produces premium bourbons including the Pappy Van Winkle line, Blanton’s, Weller, Stagg, Elmer T. Lee and others, began inspecting barrels touched by floodwaters on April 10 and that is likely to take several weeks. Any loss of barrels is not expected to be meaningful, according to the distillery.
“A lot of heart and soul goes into every product we make, which is why our team is dedicated to testing with heavy scrutiny each barrel possibly affected by flood waters to ensure there are no issues,” said Harlen Wheatley, Buffalo Trace Distillery master distiller, in a statement on Friday. “We have never, nor will we ever, compromise on the quality or safety of the whiskey we make.”
