| New Distribution Center is CompleteThis summer we completed the construction of an 83,000 square foot revolutionary new distribution center, which uses satellite technology to store and retrieve pallets of finished goods. We are one of the first spirits suppliers to use this system, called an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS).
The AS/RS occupies 46,574 square feet inside the distribution center and contains three storage and retrieval machines (or cranes) which operate in three aisles, serving storage lanes five deep, and storing pallets six levels high. The cranes are each wrapped in our logo, and have been named Albert, George, and Edmund in honor of our founding fathers, Albert Blanton, George T. Stagg and Edmund Haynes (or “E. H.”) Taylor. Each crane can induct/output 55 pallets of finished goods per hour or a total of 165 pallets moving within the system. The AS/RS contains 20 pallet staging lanes which can hold 180 total pallets.
The new distribution center is connected to our existing distribution center and was artistically designed in keeping with the existing look and feel of the existing buildings on our 224-year-old campus, making it look like it has been in place for quite some time rather than brand new.
The new center now allows us to re-rick the barrel warehouses that have been storing case goods for the last 25 years. Needless to say, we are very excited to have the warehouses back in use for their original purpose!
To see a short video of the AS/RS in action, click here:https://youtu.be/c7GBwuCGGuY
We’ve purchased a farm!
This year we purchased 300 acres of land adjacent to the Distillery and begun planting non-GMO corn from the same strain used by Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr. in 1870 on 18 acres of it. We’ve also planted our own rye and barley with plans to eventually make our own farm-to-table bourbon. The bourbon will be a separate, stand-alone bourbon with its own brand identity.
We also have plans to use a portion of the farm land to begin building a total of 50 warehouses on property starting in 2017 and continuing over the next 10 years in order to expand production.
With the addition of the farm land, Buffalo Trace Distillery now stands on a total of 440 acres!
Bourbon Shortage
We’re making more whiskey than ever at the Distillery, but demand continues to outstrip available supply, which means all of our whiskey brands remain on allocation. Because of this, brands such as Elmer T. Lee, Rock Hill Farms, Van Winkle, and the Antique Collection (George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Handy, Sazerac Rye 18yr, and Eagle Rare 17yr) will continue to be on strict allocation and hard to find for the foreseeable future.
Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, Weller, Sazerac Rye, Stagg Jr., and E. H. Taylor, Jr. will continue to be in short supply, but will benefit slightly from increased production more than a decade ago.
In addition to distilling more whiskey, adding more bottling lines, and hiring more people, we are taking additional steps to prepare for a growing future with the recently purchased 300 acres of adjacent farmland, also discussed in this newsletter, on which we intend to grow our own grains for a farm-to-table bourbon and build more barrel warehouses. Additionally, as we’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, former barrel warehouse buildings repurchased a few years ago on site at the Distillery are being re-ricked and used again as barrel storage warehouses, and plans are in the works to re-rick additional buildings on site in the next few years.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to catch up!
Fall releases
The annual fall release of the Antique Collection whiskeys will arrive in stores in limited quantities in late September, including George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Thomas H. Handy, Sazerac Rye 18yr, and Eagle Rare 17yr.
Please be warned that finding a bottle of this year’s batch of George T. Stagg will be harder than ever. This batch contained 128 barrels, a similar size batch as in previous years. Unfortunately these barrels yielded very little whiskey. Some of the barrels were nearly empty, containing only 1 or 2 gallons. Storage location of these barrels varied across a number of warehouses and several floors, but 84% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation.
Also this fall, in late October, the Van Winkle bourbons will again be released.
Please keep in mind that supply is very limited for each of the whiskies mentioned above and that these bottles are strictly allocated.
Events
We saw a record number of registrants at our 14th annual Great Buffalo Chase on July 4th! A total of 857 runners signed up from 22 different states! Shadrack Kosgei of New York was the first place men’s winner, finishing at a time of 13 minutes, 54 seconds. Esther Erb of Virginia was the first place women’s winner, finishing in 16 minutes 32 seconds. Very quick times! Congrats to all runners who joined us for a very nice race!
We will again be in attendance for the Kentucky Bourbon FestivalSept. 15-20 in Bardstown, Kentucky. If you will be in the area, come see us at our booth on the Spalding Hall lawn and come cheer on our team at the World Championship Bourbon Barrel Relay that Saturday!
Our annual Disturbia at the Distillery event will be October 30th where guests will enjoy a dinner and spirits pairing while watching the Bluegrass Mystery Theatre and trying to figure out “who did it.” Tickets for this event go on sale today. For more information visithttp://buffalotracedistillery.com/events.
Future Updates
Look for upcoming updates about recent awards, upcoming holiday events, news from the farm and more.
If we can be of any help at all with questions, needs, wants please just reply to this e-mail and it will be personally answered. If there are topics you would like to hear about from us, please do let us know that too.
In closing, and on behalf of all the 425 folks at the Trace, thank you for your support of our whiskeys, it is very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Mark and Kristie, |
