Buffalo Trace Distillery took a swing when they announced (among other things) their traveling tasting and retail experience last year.
The move seems to have paid off, because the Frankfort-based company has announced the return of Buffalo Trace Distillery On Tour for a second year. The tour will hit four cities this fall: Branson, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; and Denver, Colorado.
Each stop runs across four days, with staggered afternoon and evening time slots. That adds up to 14 total tasting sessions per city.
Every guided session lasts roughly 75 minutes and walks guests through four pours — Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Eagle Rare 10 Year Old, Weller Antique 107, and the new Sazerac Rye 100 Proof — while hosts go over maturation and the history behind each whiskey. Mash bills are also a topic of discussion, though given Buffalo Trace’s secrecy behind some of those, you may not hear what you want to (but oh well).
Each city also gets its own limited-run, city-specific barware for sale while supplies last, and dates and locations are as follows: Branson at Big Cedar Lodge, October 1–4; Kansas City at The Bauer, October 8–11; Dallas/Ft. Worth at The Laurel, October 14–17; and Denver at Church Ranch Event Center, November 12–15.
Tickets are free, but reservations are required, with a limit of four per person.
Buffalo Trace loves taking Kentucky on the road
This kind of thing might seem like a gimmick, but at this point, it’s way, way more than a one-off.
Buffalo Trace has spent the past year building out an entire calendar of experiences that have nothing to do with actually visiting the distillery. There’s Camp Buffalo Trace, an adults-only overnight event on the Frankfort grounds. There’s Perfectly Untamed, a remote Wyoming tasting room built in partnership with a bison conservation group.
And now there’s a second year of On Tour, which is the one format actually designed to travel to the fans instead of asking them to come to Kentucky.
It’s a smart bet for a brand that’s already sitting at the top of the bourbon world. Buffalo Trace doesn’t need the exposure the way a newer distillery would, but demand for its whiskeys has outpaced supply for years, and allocated bottles are notoriously hard to find on shelves.
A free, guided tasting is a low-cost way to keep people engaged with the brand even when they can’t get their hands on a bottle of Eagle Rare or Weller. Expanding to new markets each year also means Buffalo Trace isn’t just talking to the same fans — it’s building new ones in cities that don’t already have a direct line to Frankfort.
Where to sign up
There’s nothing to pay for here — the tasting sessions are free, though registration is required. The company starts saving spots on September 2 at 10 a.m. ET, with a limit of four tickets per person. Given how quickly last year’s tour sold out, expect these to go fast too.
