Buffalo Trace distillery bounces back from massive flood that briefly halted bourbon production

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Five months after a flood from the Kentucky River inundated the Buffalo Trace Distillery campus, bourbon production has resumed and the site is returning to normal operations, including the flagship Buffalo Trace bourbon and other staples such as Eagle Rare, W.L. Weller and Blanton's.

Days of heavy rain caused the river to surge over its banks, flooding more than 200 acres of the main campus and several aging warehouses. The cleanup and repairs, which the distillery estimated would top $30 million, required a shutdown of bourbon production for about a month. Buffalo Trace had just completed a decade-long, $1.2 billion expansion to double distilling capacity, a project that suddenly took on new urgency as crews inspected and rebuilt.

In the weeks after waters receded, the distillery gradually brought production back online. Finished whiskey shipped out the day after the rain stopped, bottling resumed, a makeshift gift shop opened while the visitors’ center was repaired, and tours were restarted as facilities were cleaned and tested. Officials said most of the aging whiskey that sat in affected barrels showed only minor impact, and the vast majority of product remained sound.

Tyler Adams, Buffalo Trace's distillery general manager, recalled the challenge of the moment: It was just something that was hard to process, but we couldn't take too much time to process it. Crews removed debris, sanitized equipment and pumped out floodwater, with hundreds of plant employees and contract workers contributing to the cleanup. Danny Kahn, a master distiller for Buffalo Trace's parent company, said he still experiences 'a little PTSD' when recalling those frantic days, and noted that the community and the industry were watching closely.

The distillery's recovery comes as the broader U.S. whiskey industry faces a softer market. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States reported that American whiskey sales in the United States fell nearly 2% in 2024, the first decline in more than two decades, with early 2025 data signaling a continued downward trajectory. Exports for American whiskey declined more than 13% through July 2025 compared with the prior year. Swonger said there’s ongoing debate about whether these headwinds are temporary or signal a fundamental shift in consumer behavior, but large and small distilleries across the country are under pressure.

Heaven Hill Brands, another major Kentucky producer, recently celebrated a new $200 million distillery in Bardstown, signaling that established players are pursuing capacity growth even as the market recalibrates. Latts said: 'As an independent, family-owned company, we don’t have to chase quarterly trends; we’re building for the next generation.'

For Buffalo Trace, the river will always be part of the story. Adams acknowledged that floods will reoccur and that the site’s National Historic Landmark status limits how much can be done to hold back the water. Still, the leadership says the focus is on preparedness and resilience, not retreat: 'This area being a National Historic Landmark, being right on the river, there’s only so much you can do to hold back that water. Your best bet is to prepare for it, do what you can. But holding back that water? It’s really inevitable it’s going to make it into some spaces.'