PURCHASING AND TASTING

Our license allows us to sell a portion of our award-winning bourbon portfolio in the Distillery Gift Shop including Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor Jr. Small Batch, Blanton’s Single Barrel, Sazerac Rye, and W.L. Weller Special Reserve. Our Gift Shop is treated as a retail store and as such has to buy products from our distributor, not directly from our own production supply. This means we experience shortages and limited availability the same as traditional retail outlets.

Even though we are in the middle of a $1.2 billion expansion, our supply is constantly short of demand in the Gift Shop and we have to ration supplies based on production availability.  With the exception of Buffalo Trace, we limit the other brands to one per visitor, every three calendar months, in an effort to reach as many visitors as possible.  It is likely that we will sell through a day’s ration/allocation by the end of the day.  Due to the aforementioned products being in short supply, some brands may not be available every day in our Gift Shop, just as you see with our partner retailers.  

If you are making a trip to the Distillery to purchase a specific product, please check Gift Shop Product Availability to see if it is available that day, and note, that although it may be available when we open, it is not guaranteed to be in stock when you arrive as it is made available to visitors as they arrive at the Distillery and we are not able to pre-sell or hold these products. 

All tour experiences conclude with a tasting of some of our award-winning products.  Your tasting may include Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Weller Special Reserve Bourbon, Wheatley Vodka, Buffalo Trace Distillery Bourbon Cream, Freddie’s Root Beer, and a daily rotating sample of Eagle Rare Bourbon, EH Taylor Jr. Small Batch Bourbon, Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon, or Sazerac Rye Whiskey.  No tasting in Kentucky is complete without dessert and we proudly feature a Rebecca Ruth bourbon ball to wrap up your tasting. 

If you are unable to take a tour, we offer complimentary guided tastings daily with no reservation required.  You are eligible for this tasting upon completion of our guest check-in upon arrival. This complimentary tasting experience is available until 30 minutes before closing each day.   

Buffalo Trace Distillery crafts some of the finest whiskies in the world.  Many of these are highly sought after and extremely popular.  Some of them are exceptionally hard to find.  We understand that you may wish to taste some of these offerings, such as Pappy Van Winkle, the Antique Collection; and other limited releases while visiting the Distillery.  Unfortunately, these are not available in our Visitor Center and Gift Shop for either tasting or purchasing.

In deference to our retail partners and our whiskey shortages, we limit the number of products we taste and sell in the Visitor Center. To find out where in your area our products may be available, contact our Consumer Affairs Team.