Buffalo Trace announced on Tuesday that the storied distillery just celebrated the milestone of filling its 9 millionth barrel of bourbon since Prohibition. Team members signed the barrel and displayed it in Warehouse V. The iconic bourbon brand shares that Warehouse V is the world’s only single barrel warehouse and that the barrel will spend the rest of its days aging there until it fills the tenth millionth barrel.
“The filling of our ninth millionth barrel represents a historic chapter in the Distillery’s story which began more than two centuries ago and is still being written today,” Buffalo Trace Distillery Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley said in a statement. “This milestone is exciting not just because we are producing more whiskey than ever before, but because every barrel filled ensures that generations to come will be able to enjoy the same quality and craftsmanship that has defined the Distillery since the 1850s.”
Buffalo Trace held a ceremony celebrating the event on Sept. 29, and Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman attended the event.
“We are proud to be the birthplace of bourbon, and celebrations like this one remind us that our signature industry is as strong as ever,” said Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman in a statement. “Buffalo Trace Distillery not only preserves centuries of craftsmanship, but also drives jobs, tourism and opportunity for families here in Franklin County and across the Commonwealth. Thank you to the leaders at Buffalo Trace for their continued commitment to the Commonwealth and our people.”
An Important Milestone During a Challenging Year
Resilience is the theme for the brand this year. In April, Buffalo Trace experienced a natural disaster of epic proportions, and the entire state of Kentucky faced some of the worst flooding in in decades. When the waters receded, the distillery began an intensive cleanup process, and Buffalo Trace shared that the it experienced minimal losses.
Interestingly enough, Buffalo Trace’s recovery efforts involved the rescue of 250 pounds of fish. When the flood waters receded, fish traveled over a quarter mile from the Kentucky River and remained trapped inside the distillery in late April. Students from Kentucky State University (KSU) completed the rescue. One of the species, the Bigmouth Buffalo Fish, lives about 80 years, and KSU Professor Andrew Ray said the fish is “known for its resilience.”
“Buffalo Trace is our neighbor,” said Ray. “We want to be good neighbors. We want to help out anyway we can. I think everybody at that time around the flooding was kind of worried about their neighbors.”
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