Old-school whiskey made on a mega-scale

Depending on the day, the distillery or the tour leader, a whiskey plant may be the largest maker of American brown liquor. Noted whiskey writer Chuck Cowdery once referred to the rectifying column at Buffalo Trace as “the biggest still in all Christendom,” and for good reason. Its capacity is about 1,500 barrels a day, and its twin sister still, which steamed to life about a year ago, has the same capacity. For now, each runs on alternating shifts as the distillery adds capacity in other areas (such as cookers) and catches up. When all of it is online, Buffalo Trace reps say it will produce about 2,500 barrels daily.

At its Bernheim Distillery, Heaven Hill Distillery produces 1,500 barrels daily, and it has a new distillery under construction in Bardstown, KY. After it opens in 2024 and the team spends a few years bringing all three new stills online, an additional 1,500 casks a day will be filled. Making 3,000 barrels a day will certainly prolong HH’s rickhouse building boom.