Bourbon tourism is booming. Visitor traffic to the Buffalo Trace Distillery was up a whopping 190% between 2009 and 2015. According to the latest data available the distillery saw an increase of 18% over the previous year. To help accommodate the growth in visitors to the distillery Buffalo Trace decided to renovate a very old building once used for distilling, but long since vacant. The building was going to be turned into meeting and event space. What construction crews discovered was nothing short of amazing to the distilled spirits world.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr’s O.F.C. Distillery
What construction crews unearthed was the original 1873 distillery foundation as well as 1882 fermenters from Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr’s O.F.C. Distillery (Old Fire Copper or Old Fashioned Copper). The space once planned for meeting and event space is now being excavated for bourbon lover’s across the globe to enjoy. The event space is being moved up one floor and the ancient distillery space will be renovated, preserved and opened to the public in the near future. And the space is not just for show, Buffalo Trace says at least one fermenter will be restored and operational in the near future. Click images below to enlarge.
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3D Virtual Reality Tour of the O.F.C Distillery
The whiskey (and archeology) world just can’t get enough of the O.F.C Distillery that was once hiding under concrete, dust and dirt. And now, thanks to the engineers, entrepreneurs and computer scientists at Enomalies we can get an immersive 3D tour of this historic site before it’s ever opened to the public.
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Buffalo Trace Renovation Turns to Excavation with Discovery of 1873 O.F.C. Distillery
Buffalo Trace Distillery Tours See a Whopping 190% Increase
What was once buried by construction crews in a non-ceremoniously fashion is now being meticulously unearthed, scanned and renovated like King Tut’s Tomb. This should help to guarantee tourist traffic to Buffalo Trace Distillery will continue to grow at double digit rates.
You can click the play button and the tour will play on its own or use your mouse to discover on your own. Enjoy!
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