jsrudd Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 My brother is getting married in mid-August and we've decided to go to bourbon country (he lives pretty close) to celebrate the weekend before his wedding. There will be some members of our group who are not bourbon enthusiasts. I am in charge of planning, and I am interested in doing to hard-hat tour at Buffalo Trace. I have done the tours at Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill and Woodford, but haven't done Buffalo Trace. I think we will also visit Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey. My question is will the Buffalo Trace hard-hat tour would be interesting enough to drag non-enthusiasts along? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryT Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 My brother is getting married in mid-August and we've decided to go to bourbon country (he lives pretty close) to celebrate the weekend before his wedding. There will be some members of our group who are not bourbon enthusiasts. I am in charge of planning, and I am interested in doing to hard-hat tour at Buffalo Trace. I have done the tours at Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill and Woodford, but haven't done Buffalo Trace. I think we will also visit Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey. My question is will the Buffalo Trace hard-hat tour would be interesting enough to drag non-enthusiasts along? For non-enthusiasts, I think it might be too much. Buffalo Trace does a nice basic tour (mainly a video followed by a tour of a rick house followed by a tasting) that from start to finish is probably under an hour; but the hard-hat tour is pretty in-depth (I think it is closer to 2 hours). Don't get me wrong - I think it is a great tour, but I'm in the enthusiasts bucket I think most of my non-enthusiasts friends would be done with it before we were half-way through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 Ok, thanks for the report. That's kind of what I was afraid of, and since this trip is not about me, I may just plan to do the normal tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 On the 'regular' tour, be sure to ask lotsa questions. The guides love it, and your more Bourbonian attendees will get into it more without really dragging the less-initiated through a bunch of technical aspects offered on the Hard-Hat. Also, I think sometimes the regular tour goes through the hand-bottling area, which is interesting. Depends upon whether they're bottling in there that day, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_elliott Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I would do the Hard hat tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heydobro Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 The hard hat tour is enjoyable. I just took a few microdistillery tours with non Bourbon friends in Nashville and was surprised with how much they enjoyed the detailed technical parts. Probably one of the more interesting parts of the hard hat tour for me was the part where they have you pour white dog on your hands and rub them together, releasing the underlying corn armoas. It really makes you realize how much of the grain is evident in the distillate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cazolman Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I would be more concerned about taking non-enthusiasts to three distilleries than the content on one tour. That would be like someone taking you to see not one but all three largest balls of twine. (No offense to ball of twine fans.) Maybe you could add some variety with a cooperage tour at Independent Stave or horse tour near Lexington/Keeneland. It is your BROTHER's day. I would do exactly what he wanted and let the rest deal with it. If he is a bourbon fan, then definitely do the hard hat tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I would be more concerned about taking non-enthusiasts to three distilleries than the content on one tour. That would be like someone taking you to see not one but all three largest balls of twine. (No offense to ball of twine fans.) Maybe you could add some variety with a cooperage tour at Independent Stave or horse tour near Lexington/Keeneland. It is your BROTHER's day. I would do exactly what he wanted and let the rest deal with it. If he is a bourbon fan, then definitely do the hard hat tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Nice! You're right, C. You don't want to get all Clark Griswold with this endeavor. It would be good to keep it simple and limited from the distillery visits standpoint. Makers and Woodford are great for these objectives. I think the BT Hardhat may be too much for the non- enthusiasts. Perhaps, work in a lunch or dinner at a bourbon-centric bar/restaurant and have a tasting pre-arranged? Get some special glasses made up? Hitting the trail for multiple tours can become drudgery for those who ain't crazy into our hobby like we are.I am acutely aware of the fact that doing lots of bourbon tours can become tedious. I may switch out Wild Turkey for Woodford for the reasons that you suggest. I had originally thought about going to WT because when I did the tour some years ago it had a more jocular atmosphere than some of the others (this was during the "Give 'em the Bird!" campaign) and because Jimmy Russel was hanging around the gift shop. I really like the idea of getting special glasses made. I'm also planning to get one of the hand dipped bottles at Maker's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Black Tot Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 "how stuff works" can be interesting even for people who don't like the end product. I think the hard hat tour wouldn't be wasted on them. You might even end up with a convert at the end of it!If their aversion is really bad, have them drop you off and do their own Frankfort attraction while you guys are at BT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrel800 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 As an enthusiast, the trip to Makers especially if you're planning on staying near Lexington makes for an extremely long day. Since you are a group, might be worth looking at Mint Julep tours or something on that line. Could be fun not worrying about driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Just an update, I ended up booking the Buffalo Trace Hardhat Tour for 8/14 @ 1:30. Most of the group seemed positive about the tour, so I hope it will be fun. I know I will enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Just an update, I ended up booking the Buffalo Trace Hardhat Tour for 8/14 @ 1:30. Most of the group seemed positive about the tour, so I hope it will be fun. I know I will enjoy it.I've done many tours at BT over the years. IMHO, the hardhat tour can't be beat. All the tour guides I've had at BT have been good, but with a little luck, maybe you'll get Fred. (Not to be confused with Freddie, who is good too.) Fred is a member here, and he's awesome. He truly loves what he does, and you can tell it. Good luck with your tour, and let us know how things turn out.Cheers! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 with a little luck, maybe you'll get Fred. (Not to be confused with Freddie, who is good too.) Fred is a member here, and he's awesome. He truly loves what he does, and you can tell it. Good luck with your tour, and let us know how things turn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Hardhat tour is great - best distillery tour I've done so far. (Others being Willett, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey). My wife enjoyed it and she's not a bourbon geek in the slightest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 The hard-hat tour was a great success. Everyone really liked the tour. Jeff, the tour guide, was very knowledgeable and was able to answer every question with a lot of specificity. At the end of the tour, while in the barrel warehouse, I asked about a barrel marked "experimental" and was told that it was an attempt to recreate the original Old Taylor. Buffalo Trace had acquired very old bottles from the Taylor family and, after some testing, was trying to replicate it. The tour guide said that the chemist testing the bottles had kept the bottles on the floor the entire time because he was afraid of dropping and breaking them. Maybe this will be a future release in the experimental collection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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