The first proper distillery building rose on the site in 1812, constructed by Harrison Blanton. In 1870, Edmund H. Taylor purchased the operation and christened it the Old Fire Copper Distillery -- the O.F.C. -- investing heavily in modern production methods that would set standards for the bourbon industry. The distillery later bore the name of George T. Stagg before the Sazerac Company acquired it in 1992 and renamed it Buffalo Trace in 1999, reviving the memory of those ancient animal paths. In October 2016, workers renovating a building for event space uncovered the stone foundation of the original 1873 distillery, which had burned down in 1882. Alongside the foundation lay the remains of fermenters from that same year, artifacts that had been quietly sealed beneath a replacement building for over a century. The site is now open to visitors.

When Prohibition swept the nation in 1920, most distilleries shuttered their doors and watched their inventory evaporate -- sometimes literally, as barrels were seized or abandoned. Buffalo Trace was among a small handful granted federal permits to continue producing whiskey for medicinal purposes. Doctors could prescribe bourbon for ailments ranging from the common cold to general debility, and pharmacies dispensed it by the pint. The arrangement kept the stills warm, the workforce employed, and the institutional knowledge of bourbon-making intact through 13 dry years. When Repeal arrived in 1933, the distillery was ready to resume full production while competitors scrambled to rebuild from nothing.

The bourbon that flows from Buffalo Trace's warehouses today reads like a collector's wish list. The distillery produces its namesake Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon alongside Eagle Rare, Blanton's Single Barrel, the barrel-proof George T. Stagg, and the coveted W.L. Weller line whose wheated mash bill is nearly identical to that used for the Van Winkle brands. Since June 2002, an agreement with the Van Winkle family has kept Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve, Old Rip Van Winkle, and Van Winkle Special Reserve distilled and aged on site. The distillery also produces Col. E.H. Taylor small batch and single barrel expressions, Sazerac straight rye, Thomas H. Handy barrel-proof rye, and even Wheatley vodka. A partnership with country musician Chris Stapleton produced Traveller blended whisky. Beyond bourbon, the operation bottles Peychaud's Bitters, the aromatic backbone of the Sazerac cocktail itself.

In early April 2025, days of heavy rainfall dumped more than 15 inches on parts of central Kentucky, and the Kentucky River at Frankfort climbed to 48.24 feet -- the second-highest level in the distillery's two-century history. Significant portions of the campus went underwater. Tours were suspended, an Easter event was canceled, and access was restricted to recovery crews assessing damage across the sprawling grounds. The flood was a reminder that the same river whose limestone-filtered water gives Kentucky bourbon its character can also turn hostile. Cleanup began in phases, with the distillery methodically working through each building before reopening.