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.

Tour Information
Open Tuesday thru Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Open on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
April thru October

Closed on all major holidays

Admission
$5 per person age 18 and older (guests under 18 are free).

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 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.

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