Famous bourbon distillery suffers 'substanial' damage from flooding in Kentucky's capital

Watch: Famous Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, surrounded by floodwaters

An aerial view of the famous Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, shows it surrounded by floodwaters. As of Sunday, the distillery was closed and will not be accessible to consumers or employees. 

FRANKFORT, Ky. – America's oldest continuously operating distillery is temporarily closed because of major flooding in Kentucky this week, caused by days of heavy downpours that have caused the Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to surge. 

The Buffalo Trace Distillery is located along the banks of the Kentucky River in Frankfort. On Monday, the river crested at 48.2 feet, the second highest in Frankfort's history. The highest flooding on record for the Frankfort Lock is 48.47 feet in 1978. 

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Video shared by Buffalo Trace on Sunday showed the water around the historic buildings of the distillery property.  

"As of today, Buffalo Trace Distillery is closed and will not be accessible to either consumers or team members," distillery staff wrote on Facebook. 

Buffalo Trace said on Wednesday that reopening of the distillery would be pushed back to at least Saturday, as cleanup begins on parts of the property. The distillery said early assessments indicate "substantial" damage and that recovery will take time. 

"Because Buffalo Trace Distillery has survived in its location on the Kentucky River for over 200 years, we have, unfortunately, experience in flood management and recovery," said Jake Wenz, Sazerac & Buffalo Trace Distillery CEO and president, in a statement. "We initiated a preparation flood plan ahead of the surge. We were able to implement that plan late last week and are hopeful in doing so we will have mediated at least some of the damage. That said, we do expect the impact to be extensive and the recovery efforts to be significant and ongoing for some time."

Aerial view of Buffalo Trace Distillery surrounded by floodwaters in Frankfort, Kentuky, after days of heavy rainfall across the Midwest on April 7, 2025. 

(LEANDRO LOZADA/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

"Our hearts are with the rest of the community that has also been impacted by this devastation," he added. "Buffalo Trace Distillery will support relief efforts in the coming weeks to help Frankfort residents through this difficult time."

Residents of Frankfort were placed under a mandatory curfew Sunday due to Kentucky River flooding. 

Some communities in Kentucky saw more than 15 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The flooding claimed the life of a 9-year-old boy swept away by floodwaters in Frankfort. 

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The Kentucky and Ohio rivers are forecast to crest in dozens of locations in the coming week before the surge of water begins moving south, eventually flowing into the Mississippi River, where major river flooding is forecast in the next two weeks.