FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky has reached another production milestone by filling its eighth millionth barrel of bourbon since Prohibition.
Previous milestones took an average of 12 years to achieve, but the eight millionth barrel comes just four years after the seven millionth barrel was filled, the distillery said Thursday. The accelerated pace is due to the $1.2 billion expansion efforts at the distillery.
“Over the past few years, we’ve doubled our fermenters, added more grain cookers and more barrel warehouses, all in an effort to make more bourbon,” master distiller Harlen Wheatley said in a statement. “We’ve filled a record number of barrels every year, as evidenced by how fast we moved from the seventh millionth barrel to the eighth millionth barrel."
Distillery officials were joined by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer to mark the milestone.
Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Kentucky.