Buffalo Trace opens new distillery cafe. Here’s how you can get a free tasting
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- Buffalo Trace opens the John G. Carlisle Cafe at its Frankfort distillery on May 11, 2025.
- Grand opening features three weeks of daily events with selected free meals and tastings.
- The distillery’s archives include only known bottle of Carlisle Whiskey, now on display.
Buffalo Trace will open its new cafe May 11, with three weeks of daily specials for visitors, including free meals and tastings, specialty cocktails and more.
The distillery announced last year it would be adding the John G. Carlisle Cafe, named for the influential politician who helped secure passage of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897.
The new cafe is in the historic Elmer T. Lee Clubhouse lodge built on the distillery grounds. It’s a 4,900-square-foot cafe with seating for 70, plus additional seating on the patio outside.
The menu will feature made-to-order sandwiches, salads and desserts as well as classics such as the Kentucky Hot Brown. The cafe also will have a rotating menu of cocktails featuring Buffalo Trace spirits such as the Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned, Wheatley Vodka Peach Muel and a Traveller Whiskey Lucky Penny.
To celebrate the grand opening, the distillery will have:
- Free meals on Mondays, May 11, May 18 and May 25, for the first 100 guests (meal vouchers provided upon check in).
- On Tuesdays, May 12, May 19 and May 26, you can explore Buffalo Trace Distillery history with “From the Archives,” an open house event from noon to 2 p.m. with lead archivist Nick Laracuente with a curated display on the second floor of the clubhouse.
- Whiskey Wednesdays on May 13, May 20 and May 26, with free samples of a new, soon-to-be announced release served all day. Bottles will be available for puchase in the Buffalo Trace Distillery gift shop (limited quantities available.)
- Thursdays will feature limited one-hour meet and greets in the cafe. On May 14, master distiller Harlen Wheatley; on May 21, Danny Kahn, master distiller and distillation/aging operations director; on May 28, Drew Mayville, Buffalo Trace Distillery master blender.
- Fridays on May 15, May 22 and May 29 will offer free Freddie’s Old-Fashioned soda products in the cafe with special appearances by global brand ambassador Freddie Johnson for Freddie Fridays.
- On Saturdays, May 16, May 23 and May 30, seasonal, limited-time cocktails will be available for purchase from noon to 2 p.m. in the cafe with a Buffalo Trace-infused Rebecca Ruth’s chocolate pairing.
- On Sundays, May 17, May 24 and May 31, there will be free breakfast bites from 11 a.m. to noon, including free tastings of Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. Four Grain.
The cafe features historic artifacts from the Distillery’s more than two centuries of history, including the only known bottle of Carlisle Whiskey, which has been preserved in the Distillery’s archives, along with rare photographs of the original Carlisle Distillery and images of employees using the Clubhouse dating back to the 1950s. There’s also the flood line marking the historic high-water level reached during the April 2025 flood.
“For years, guests have asked for a dedicated place to enjoy a meal while spending the day with us,” said Tyler Adams, general manager of Buffalo Trace Distillery. “The John G. Carlisle Cafe is a meaningful addition to the Distillery experience, opening this historic space to the public for the first time and inviting visitors to slow down, settle in, and fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere that makes Buffalo Trace so special.”
The cafe will be open to the public, but visitors will still need to check in at the Freehouse welcome building in the visitor parking lot.
John G. Carlisle Cafe at Buffalo Trace Distillery
Where: Buffalo Trace Distillery, 113 Great Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Ky.
Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Online: buffalotracedistillery.com/visit-us/cafe.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 2:47 PM.
