After a lengthy but rewarding afternoon spent at the Wild
Turkey visitor’s center near Lawrenceburg, Ky., we saved our final stop of two
days of touring some of Kentucky’s finest bourbon distilleries for the Buffalo
Trace headquarters in the state capital of Frankfort.
In full disclosure, the Buffalo Trace distillery was an original
member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which has only been an “official” self-guided
tour sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers Association since 1999. But when the Sazerac Company purchased
Buffalo Trace in 2010, Sazerac discontinued its partnership with other
distillers on the trail (one supposed reason:
Buffalo Trace wanted to continue to offer free tours). Regardless of how “official” its status is
today, Buffalo Trace is widely considered part of the greater Kentucky Bourbon
Trail experience, and since I happen to consider Buffalo Trace one of my
favorite bourbons (much like Punky loves her Wild Turkey), we made it a
priority to come here.
I also feel compelled to describe my first impressions of
Frankfort. It’s one of the most oddly
laid out towns I’ve ever seen, and it takes a little getting used to when
you’re first exploring it. It seems to
exist along the Kentucky River in spite of the river’s and the surrounding
terrain’s best efforts to thwart city planners who were intent on putting the
state capital here. About 25,000 people
call it home today, and its historic neighborhoods near the capitol and the
governor’s mansion are quite scenic and hilly.
Its small downtown area is very charming and walkable.
