How to Get Buffalo Trace Tour Tickets

Quick Facts

• Where to book: online reservations on buffalotracedistillery.com, with limited walk-up availability each day.
• Release schedule: new tour dates every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern; the calendar reaches up to 8 weeks ahead.
• Cost: Distillery tickets are included in custom tour pricing. Every reserved tour includes a tasting.
• Hours: Monday to Saturday 9 to 5, Sunday 11 to 5, Eastern. Closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
• Check-in: Freehouse Welcome Center; valid ID for anyone tasting or buying; arrive 20 to 30 minutes before your tour.
• With BourbonTown Tours: ticket included in the rate; contact us at least 10 weeks ahead if Buffalo Trace matters to your group.

When Buffalo Trace releases tour tickets

Buffalo Trace books tours by online reservation through its own website, with limited walk-up availability each day. New dates go live once a week, on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the reservation calendar reaches up to 8 weeks ahead. That release rhythm decides everything. A Saturday in October shows up on the calendar about two months out, on a Wednesday morning, and the popular time slots go first. The distillery states that demand is high and that, with a finite number of offerings, it may not be able to host every guest at the time they want. With a window that short, the scarce thing is the slot. If you are booking on your own, put the release time in your calendar, sign on a few minutes before 10, and have your headcount and two backup times ready. Bring the confirmation on your phone or printed for a faster check-in.

Which Buffalo Trace tour to book

The Trace Tour is the one we book, and the one most first-time visitors should pick. It runs about 75 minutes, walks you among the barrels and into an aging warehouse, and ends with a tasting. The Hard Hat Tour goes deeper into production. The Old Taylor Tour is a history lesson. For a group with mixed interest levels, the Trace Tour covers a bit of everything and keeps the rest of the day on schedule. Plan on about two hours at Buffalo Trace once you add check-in and the gift shop, so this one stop shapes the whole route. The Buffalo Trace distillery guide covers the grounds, the bottles and what else sits nearby, and Buffalo Trace vs Woodford Reserve helps if you are choosing between the two.

How we book Buffalo Trace on a private tour

On a BourbonTown Tours private day, the Buffalo Trace ticket is included in your rate and we book it once your tour is confirmed. We ask for at least 10 weeks of notice when Buffalo Trace matters to your group, and the reason is the calendar. It opens 8 weeks out, so 10 weeks gives us time to confirm your date and build the route before the Wednesday release that covers it. A group set on Buffalo Trace needs to move earlier than for most distilleries. We build the rest of the day in the same corridor. Castle and Key sits in the Frankfort cluster, Woodford Reserve in Versailles is about 25 minutes away, and Four Roses and Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg also fit. If your slot is gone, we tell you, propose another stop in that cluster and keep the Buffalo Trace grounds and gift shop on the route. See Castle and Key, Woodford Reserve and our private bourbon tours from Lexington.

What if Buffalo Trace tours are sold out?

A sold-out Trace Tour does not mean skipping Buffalo Trace. Fall weekend dates can be gone within minutes. We book at the release for our guests. If your date is already full, you can still visit. Your group can walk the grounds, browse the gift shop for the bottle of the day and still taste, all without a Trace Tour slot. We sell that plan as the Buffalo Trace Grounds Day, which you can book for any date, with no Wednesday release to wait for.

Check-in, parking and ID

Every guest starts at the Freehouse Welcome Center, where IDs are checked and wristbands are issued. Anyone tasting or buying shows a valid ID. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before your tour, or 45 to 60 minutes early if you want to shop first. The visitor lot opens at 8 a.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday, parking is limited, and a morning line can form from 8 a.m. (10:30 a.m. on Sunday). On a private tour your driver handles the drop-off and pickup, and the timing sits in your itinerary. For lead times across the rest of the year, see how to plan a Kentucky bourbon tour.

Frequently asked questions