Buffalo Trace Distillery set a new visitation record, with more than 340,000 guests visiting the National Historic Landmark Distillery in 2021. This is a 134 percent increase in the number of visitors in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and a 16 percent increase in the number of visitors it welcomed in 2019.

Since 2010, visitation to Buffalo Trace has increased by 556 percent.

The Distillery completed a massive expansion of its Visitor Center in 2020 during the onset of the pandemic. The Visitor Center triples the size of the previous Visitor Center and conveniently allows for easier social distancing, provides ample space and comfort for guests exploring the gift shop or tasting in the new expansive tasting rooms.

But with visitation continuing to grow at pre-pandemic rates, the Distillery is making further adjustments. To further accommodate the increasing number of guests as they arrive to the Distillery, Buffalo Trace is renovating its historical Freehouse, located in the visitor parking lot into a full welcome center.

Over the past year, the space has served as the visitor COVID health and safety check-in. The renovations, which are anticipated to be completed by mid-February 2022, will allow the Distillery to check-in visitors for all activities within the same space by early March. The building will retain its historically significant design features and be updated to support the modern needs of visitors, including reservation check-in and WiFi. Plans also include updated landscaping and murals for photo opportunities for arriving visitors.

“We are thankful that, despite the challenges the last couple of years have brought, our fans continue to feel comfortable at the Distillery and are traveling from all over to visit us,” Director of Homeplace Development Meredith Moody said in a news release. “We look forward to incorporating our new Welcome Center into our visitor operations in the coming months and are excited to welcome even more guests throughout the year.”

Tours of Buffalo Trace Distillery remain complimentary. In order to better accommodate social distancing, the Distillery is limiting tour group sizes and accepts tour visitors by reservation only. As the number of guests visiting the Distillery has increased, Buffalo Trace has accordingly increased the number of tours and tastings offered, though tours continue to book quickly.  Registrations for the Trace Tour, Old Taylor Tour, Bourbon Barrel Tour and Expansion Tour can be made at https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/visit-us.html.

All tours include a socially distanced tasting. Operating hours for Buffalo Trace Distillery are 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday. To visit the Distillery’s online gift shop, visit https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/shop.html.

A complete list of safety procedures, along with information about enacted sanitation measures and protective equipment in use can be found here.

In addition, Buffalo Trace is continuing to produce even more bourbon, and is making progress on its ongoing $1.2 billion distillery expansion to increase production for future bourbon demand.

Buffalo Trace also enhanced its social media based #WhiskeyWednesday series in 2021, to include two new formats, called Trace Talk and Homeplace History. Over the course of the year the campaign reached more than 4.1 million viewers worldwide. The #WhiskeyWednesday episodes can be viewed on the Buffalo Trace Distillery Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.