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Woodford
Reserve Distillery
The Woodford Reserve Distillery is located
in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass hidden away between
some of the most scenic Thoroughbred horse farms in the
country. The Bluegrass Region sits on a huge limestone aquifer.
The limestone serves as a giant filter, removing unwanted
materials from the water and adding calcium. This is important
to us because the calcium reacts quite favorably with the
yeast during production, making for a better Bourbon. It's
also that same water that promotes strong bones and good
bone conformation in horses - more specifically - Thoroughbred
racehorses.
All of the Woodford Reserve stone buildings are over a 100
years old, but the Distillery building is the oldest. The
first section went up in 1838, and although it expanded
over the years, it kept its classic design.
WOODFORD RESERVE DISTILLERY TOURS
Tours are available Tuesday through Saturday
year-round, and on Sundays April through December.
Bourbon Discovery Tour
Take a guided educational session through the distillery
that explains everything from the history of bourbon to
the maturation and bottling process. At the end of the tour,
guests 21 and over can taste the award-winning bourbon during
a special sampling at the Visitor's Center. Admission
$5 per person age 18 and older (guests under 18
are free). This tour is offered
Tuesday through Saturday (year round) at 10am,
11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm & 3pm. Sunday tours are offered
April through December at 1pm, 2pm & 3pm. For groups
of 10 or more, please make a reservation by calling our
representative at (859) 879-1934.
Corn to Cork Tour
Choose this two hour session showing the mechanical, chemical,
technical and "sensory" aspects of producing bourbon.
It is more in-depth and covers more aspects of the bourbon
making process than our "Bourbon Discovery" tour.
This tour is offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
at 9:30am. Reservations are required and can be made by
calling our representative at (859) 879-1934. Tickets are
$10.00 per person. For groups of 10 or more, please make
a reservation by calling our representative at (859) 879-1934.
National Landmark Tour
Join us for a one and a half hour session that educates
guests on the cultural and architectural evolution of the
Woodford Reserve Distillery. The cultural tour also explores
the history and architecture of the property and its impact
on Kentucky heritage. This tour is offered Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday at 11:30am. Reservations are required and can
be made by calling our representative at (859) 879-1934.
Tickets are $10.00 per person. For groups of 10 or more,
please make a reservation by calling our representative
at (859) 879-1934.
Closed on all major holidays.
Picnic on the Porch - Enjoy Our Popular Seasonal Lunch Service!
Dates to TBD
Wallace Station will now be onsite in our Visitor's Centre
offering a variety of fabulous, homemade sandwiches on their
famous, fresh baked bread, hearty soups, crisp salads, and
mouth watering pastries, pies, and sweets. Take your lunch
outside on our porch and enjoy our sweeping views of the
Distillery, Glenn's Creek and the surrounding countryside.
Directions from Louisville
Take I-64 East to U.S. 60 (Frankfort / Versailles exit).
Turn right towards Versailles. Travel for 2.6 miles to Rt.
3360 (Grassy Springs Rod). Turn right and follow the road
until it ends. Turn right onto McCracken Pike to the Visitors
Center.
Directions from Lexington
Follow U.S. 60 (Versailles Rd) from Lexington towards Frankfort.
Shortly after passing the intersection of U.S. 60 and state
road 1685, turn left onto Rt. 3360 (Grassy Springs Rd).
Follow this road until it ends. Turn right onto McCraken
Pike to the Visitors Center.
Distillery Tour Information
Until you can make it to the Woodford Reserve Distillery,
we'll take you through a tour now.
Cooking & Fermenting Corn, rye and
malted barley start the life of a batch of Woodford Reserve.
The corn brings the sweetness to the taste while the rye
adds spice. The grains are milled then cooked with limestone
water. To keep things consistent, we use a portion of the
prior batch (called 'set back') to sour the next batch.
While cooking, the corn and rye release starch, which is
then turned into fermentable sugar by enzymes in the malted
barley.
Next we pump the mash into our small cypress fermentation
tanks. Some distillers might use stainless steel, but we've
found that cypress doesn't add any unwanted flavor to our
Bourbon. Plus, we like to stick to tradition. It's in the
tanks that we introduce our proprietary strain of yeast
to the mix converting the fermentable sugar into alcohol.
We let the sour mash ferment up to seven days being sure
to take our sweet -and sour - time.
When fermentation is complete, you've got what is known
as the 'distiller's beer'. The next stop for the 'beer'
is the Still Room. At this point, it's only about 18 proof,
so it has some growing up to do.
Distilling Specially made all the way from
Rothes, Scotland, our copper pot stills hold our product
during this process. The first 2,500 gallons (called a 'charge')
is pumped from the fermenter into still #1 which is known
as the 'beer still'. It's during distillation that the alcohol
is separated from the water. The copper pot still process
is one that's not so commercial - just another small detail
that sets our distillery apart.
Next we inject steam, and the alcohol vaporizes up the gooseneck.
It then cools as it passes through a condenser and is turned
back into a 40 proof liquid - a little something we call
'low wine'. Now, we're ready for the second round of distilling.
The low wine is pumped into the 'high wine' still and gets
heated, causing the alcohol to vaporize again. It goes through
condensation and comes out as a 100 - 110 proof liquid that
we call - you guessed it - high wine.
The high wine goes into the 'spirit still' and is distilled
a third and final time resulting in a lovely 158 proof spirit.
At this point, we're done distilling and ready to put our
new spirit into barrels.
Barrels We don't fill an enormous amount
of barrels each week, so we're sticklers about their quality.
We have to be. The barrels play a critical role in the maturation
of our Bourbon. While oak barrels became the standard because
of their strength, sugar content and other excellent properties
for maturing whisky.
We buy our barrels from Bluegrass Cooperage in Louisville,
KY. A barrel maker - called a 'cooper' - is a craftsman
in every sense of the word. After sanding and tapering the
rough white oak, a cooper uses skill and experience to make
the staves fit perfectly into the iron circle. No nails,
no glue. Just a steam fitting to achieve the proper permanent
shape.
Next, the barrel gets toasted for approximately 22 minutes.
This causes the sugars in the wood to caramelize, providing
the Bourbon that sweet vanilla taste and caramel aroma.
The barrel then gets set on fire for about 20 seconds, forming
a layer of char on the inside surface of the barrel. It's
the char that contributes to the rich amber color of the
finished product.
Finally, our specially toasted and charred barrelheads are
installed and the barrels are ready to receive the product.
Maturation Demineralized water brings the
158 proof product down to 110 which is 'entry proof'. The
barrels move from the Distillery Building to the warehouse
via our 500 foot barrel run. It's in the warehouses that
the new spirit matures into Bourbon. It goes in clear and
comes out years later a rich amber color. And, yes, there
is an explanation for this magical color change. It's all
in the weather.
The hot Kentucky summer causes the whisky in the barrel
to expand, forcing its way into the layers of the barrel
and charred wood. Wintertime makes the barrel contract,
bringing the whisky back through the layers. This passage
in and out of the layers is called a cycle and every cycle
gives the product more color and aroma.
As previously stated, we're sticklers about quality. Throughout
maturation, every barrel is sampled. We have to be confident
that the taste, aroma, and color are exactly where they
need to be to become Woodford Reserve Bourbon. And, it's
only official when Master Distiller Chris Morris and Distillery
Manager Dave Scheurich say so. They give the word and the
product gets bottled.
Courtesy of Woodford Reserve |
The
historic Woodford Reserve Distillery is unlike any other in
America. Nestled amid the picturesque horse farms of Central
Kentucky, it is the distillery that crafts its bourbon in
copper pot stills and ages it in unique limestone warehouses.
Whisky was first produced on this site in 1812 and it was
here that some of America's earliest distilling pioneers perfected
their craft. 
