The History of Buffalo Trace Distillery
On a bend in the Kentucky River sits a distillery that has survived Prohibition, floods, and more than two centuries of changing taste. The Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort is one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries in America, and its history reads like a chronicle of bourbon itself.
The site has been used for distilling since the late 1700s, when settlers followed the ancient buffalo migration routes that crossed the Kentucky River there, the same trails that give the distillery its modern name. Commercial distilling on the property took shape through the 1800s under a series of owners.
The Stagg and Blanton Eras
The most pivotal early figure was Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr., who acquired the operation in the late 19th century and modernized it dramatically, introducing innovations like climate-controlled aging warehouses. Taylor was later bought out by George T. Stagg, and for many years the facility was known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. Both names live on today as celebrated bourbon labels.
Another central figure was Colonel Albert B. Blanton, who began working at the distillery as a teenager around the turn of the 20th century and rose to run it. Blanton guided the distillery through Prohibition and the Great Depression, keeping it alive when most others closed.
Surviving Prohibition
When Prohibition shut down the American whiskey industry from 1920 to 1933, the distillery was one of only a handful granted a permit to continue producing whiskey for "medicinal purposes." That rare exemption is a major reason it can claim continuous operation while so many competitors went dark forever.
The Modern Renaissance
In 1999, the facility was renamed the Buffalo Trace Distillery, and it has since become one of the most decorated distilleries in the world. It is the home of an extraordinary range of sought-after bourbons, from the everyday Buffalo Trace label to the highly allocated Antique Collection and the Van Winkle line produced in partnership with the Van Winkle family. It was here that Elmer T. Lee created Blanton's in 1984, launching the single-barrel era.
A Living Landmark
Designated a National Historic Landmark, the distillery continues to experiment and age whiskey in its historic warehouses, some of which date back well over a century. Few places connect bourbon's past and present so directly. Explore bottles from this storied distillery in our Buffalo Trace collection.
