Buffalo Trace Distillery Sets Visitor Record - Blowing Past Pre-Pandemic Levels

Buffalo Trace has set a new yearly record for visitors in 2021, welcoming a whopping 340,000+ visitors, a 134% increase over 2020. The last time I wrote about this was in 2019 when they had a record 231,000+ visitors the previous year (2018). This means there has been over a 100,000 person increase in only a 3 year time period... crazy!

One of the main reasons for the expanded visitor count is the recently upgraded Visitor Center that was completed in 2020. The new Visitor Center tripled the size of the previous version and allows for easier social distancing and provides ample space and comfort for checking out the Gift Shop or tasting. To accommodate the insatiable demand of visitors, Buffalo Trace is renovating its historical Freehouse, located in the visitor parking lot into a full welcome center with a target completion date of next month (Feb. 2022). 

Director of Homeplace Development, Meredith Moody says:

We are thankful that, despite the challenges the last couple of years have brought, our

fans continue to feel comfortable at the Distillery and are traveling from all over to visit us. We look forward to incorporating our new Welcome Center into our visitor operations in the coming months and are excited to welcome even more guests throughout the year.

If you are planning a visit, Buffalo Trace has created the following page on what to expect when visiting. Some of the safety measures include social distancing and limiting tour group sizes. Additionally, they are only accepting tours and visitors by reservation only. 

Reservations can be made at https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/visitus.html. All tours are complimentary and include a socially distanced tasting. Operating hours are 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The distillery is located at:

113 Great Buffalo Trace
Frankfort, KY 40601

My Take

Holy cow, that is a ton of people! Almost a 1000 a day! I've had the pleasure of visiting the Buffalo Trace distillery a few times. I documented my last visit for the site in 2018. It's definitely worth checking out and one of the best tours and distilleries in Kentucky. With all the visitors, it may be worth checking out on a weekday to try to avoid some of the crowds. 

What do you think? Drop a note in the comments below. 

Source: Buffalo Trace