Buffalo Trace Distillery Doubles Production, So You Might Finally Get Some Pappy Van Winkle

In welcome news for bourbon drinkers, the multi-award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky is not only set to grow significantly this year, but the team have also just doubled their production. Thanks to a new stillhouse, Buffalo Trace will be able to produce more whiskey than ever before across its highly-regarded brands, including the ultra-rare Pappy Van Winkle, Weller, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, E.H. Taylor Jr., and, of course, its namesake bourbon.

This is particularly exciting news for keen drinkers who are continually scouring the market for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, known as one of the rarest and most elusive labels in the industry.

Although, do note that it will be years before the seeds of this newfound labour begin to sprout. Yet, all the aforementioned brands will start to see production really ramp up this year, with the new still sitting adjacent to Buffalo Trace’s existing stillhouse.

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“We are really looking forward to starting up our new still so we can make more bourbon whiskey for our fans,” said Buffalo Trace’s Master Distillery Harlen Wheatley in a statement.”

“Whilst we are increasing production of all of our whiskies, including Pappy Van Winkle, keep in mind that even doubling production on a brand with a very small annual production number, and factoring in aging, it will be at least a decade before we see the results.”

The youngest Pappy Van Winkle is aged 10 years, while the oldest is aged 23 years. That should give you a bit of an indication of just how long we’d need to wait before we start seeing these unicorn bourbons floating around the market.

The new Buffalo Trace stillhouse is part of the US$1.2 billion (AU$1.7 billion) expansion that was announced last year, propping up every aspect of production and growing the distillery immensely with 14 new warehouses, 12 fermenters and a larger visitor centre.