AP News reported on Saturday that the legendary Buffalo Trace Distillery was beginning the cleanup and whiskey inspection process after devastating and historic flooding took place in Kentucky in early April.
Buffalo Trace Distillery shared updates on the flood recovery process on its social pages. On April 11, the brand posted that flood waters “completely receded,” which allowed its team to begin clean-up efforts. The storied distillery then went on to outline a very detailed plan for recovery after the Kentucky floods.
“Inspection of any barrels touched by the flood began Thursday, April 10 and will be ongoing until all have been appropriately assessed,” the brand shared on Instagram. “This is a very involved process, including both barrel inspection as well as the same rigorous quality testing every bottle of whiskey undergoes at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Based on historical knowledge from previous floods, Buffalo Trace has been successful in recovering any barrels that might have been affected by flood waters; the Distillery is confident in its process. Inspection is expected to take several weeks, however, any loss of barrels is not expected to be meaningful.”
Many fans of the distillery expressed their support in the comments section.
“Y’all got this and will come back even stronger,” an individual expressed.
AP News spoke with the brand’s Master Distiller, Harlen Wheatley who corroborated that steps towards recovery would take a bit of time and effort.
“This is a very involved process, including both barrel inspection as well as a rigorous quality testing that we do with all our products,” Wheatley said in a statement.
The news organization reported that cleaning crews were spotted removing debris from the Kentucky bourbon brand’s visitor center and that flooding had reached its first floor.
The Courier-Journal reported that Buffalo Trace began its inspection on April 12, and Sazerac & Buffalo Trace Distillery CEO and President Jake Wenz shared that the brand was proactive before the flooding began, and the damage could have been a lot worse. Buffalo Trace intends to open a slightly smaller retail space as the brand attempts to get operations back to normal.
“I am grateful for the excellent preparation work that our teams completed in advance of the flood, which mitigated the extent of the damage we might otherwise have sustained,” Sazerac & Buffalo Trace Distillery CEO and President Jake Wenz said in a statement. “We are confident that we will be back up and running shortly.”
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