fishnbowljoe Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I received an email from BT the other day. I figured I'd pass along the main news and highlights. Distillery Expansion Progress Things are moving along right with the $1.2 billion dollar expansion at the Trace. BT just started a seven day distillery operation schedule for the first time since 1973! In the works are new mash cookers, a boiler, and fermenters. These will be installed this summer during their annual summer shutdown. An upgrade to bottling operations is also in the works. Bottling Line #1 kicked off the transiton about three weeks ago. The existing high speed bottling hall will be moving into the old distribution center near the visitor parking lot. In a nutshell, modernized, high speed lines for better efficiency and more capacity. The hand bottling operation will continue as is, but additional capacity will be added in the future. Warehouse Construction Update The first of 30 new warehouses is now complete. The first barrel was rolled into Warehouse AA on January 12th. Ricks have been installed in Warehouse BB. The foundation has been poured for Warehouse CC, and the ground has been prepped for Warehouse DD. Each of these new warehouses will hold 68,800 barrels! Other Tidbits A new, safer road into the distillery has been installed. No more sharp right turn when you get to Warehouse C. For those of you (including me) who may not have been to the Trace recently, look for a new stop sign and engraved stone entrance marker on the right, about halfway down the entry drive. Although the Visitor Center was updated in 2015, BT is already looking at ways to expand the space and accommodate growing needs. At the end of 2017, a tourism milestone was reached. The year ended with 201,491 visitors! An increase of 18 percent in visitation over the previous calendar year, and a 287 percent increase since 2010. FWIW, it took 15 years to get to 100,000 visitors, but only 3 years to get to 200,000 visitors. Future Updates Coming soon, news about BT's 7 millionth barrel celebration, on going distillery expansions and more. That's about all for now folks. I'll pass along any more news, if and when I receive it. Biba! Joe 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcbt Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Thx for sharing the tidbits. 30 new warehouses, somehow that escaped me until now. I knew they were expanding, but had no idea by that much, that's insane to think about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Joe, has anyone ever mentioned to you anything about that fabulous white marble buffalo that could be seen being sculpted in stages online a couple years ago? I understood from viewing those online snippets that it was to be installed at 'The Trace' "soon", which I took to mean in 2017 sometime. I asked Freddie about it last Fall, when Gary and I were there, and he didn't have any info about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRich Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Thanks Joe.It’s always a bit of delayed gratification when a favorite distillery expands. I’m left thinking “yeah for more whiskey.....in ten years.”Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 15 hours ago, Richnimrod said: Joe, has anyone ever mentioned to you anything about that fabulous white marble buffalo that could be seen being sculpted in stages online a couple years ago? I understood from viewing those online snippets that it was to be installed at 'The Trace' "soon", which I took to mean in 2017 sometime. I asked Freddie about it last Fall, when Gary and I were there, and he didn't have any info about it. It's actually limestone. It was put in place last September. Here's a pic. Sorry about the quality. Biba! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Ahh, Thanx, Joe! I wonder when exactly it was placed? Gary and I were at The Trace during our B'town visit during KBF. I'd have thought Freddie woulda had a clue when I asked him about it, if it was in place then. Oh, well. Just another good excuse to make the trip again: to view the beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted February 24, 2018 Author Share Posted February 24, 2018 The new buffalo was placed in the clubhouse gardens last September 25th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FasterHorses Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Joe, I was told there are plans for the Bourbon Pompeii other than just a stop on the tour.. Do you have specifics on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 1 hour ago, FasterHorses said: Joe, I was told there are plans for the Bourbon Pompeii other than just a stop on the tour.. Do you have specifics on that? Not at this time. Care to share your information? Biba! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 Vosgar, Galvin0791 and I were at BT Friday. Here's some pics. Pics 1 & 2 - Thunder (2.0) Pics 3, 4 & 5 - BT's Bourbon Pompeii Pics 6, 7 & 8 Warehouse AA, the first of the planned 30 new warehouses. It's already been filled up to the 5th story. Pic 9 - Warehouse BB. Almost complete. They're putting the finishing touches on it, and it will be ready to start being filled very, very soon. Pics 10 & 11 - Warehouse CC under construction. Pic 12 - Warehouse V. BT's single (millionth barrel) warehouse. Notice it's empty. BT's 7 millionth barrel will be placed in there this coming Wednesday. Biba! Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Hmmm, different 'skin' on the new rickhouses? An attempt being made to delay or prevent the 'Whiskey Fungus'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Richnimrod said: Hmmm, different 'skin' on the new rickhouses? An attempt being made to delay or prevent the 'Whiskey Fungus'? Old "images" of rick houses show the mold does grow on classic corrugated metal siding (that wavy potato chip style stuff popular for use on barns, quonset huts, silos, sheds, etc.) which was usually galvanized iron or steel. The BT siding looks like the more modern steel panels (sometimes called "tin") with an acrylic coating. Brick red seems to be a popular color according to the manufacturer/reseller websites I visited. Power washing of the acrylics available today is a lot easier than hitting those galvanized, corrugated sheets. Thanks, Rich, for the interesting diversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vosgar Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 They also applied a spray insulation on the interior side of these panels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 26 minutes ago, Vosgar said: They also applied a spray insulation on the interior side of these panels I'm scratching my head wondering why in the hell they thought that'd be a good idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 8 hours ago, Paddy said: I'm scratching my head wondering why in the hell they thought that'd be a good idea... Me too! (No hashtag.) Unless Sazerac intends to have some number of rickhouses do a little 'slower maturation' in order to blend more moderate wood notes into some brands? Off hand I can think of no other reason to insulate a rickhouse. My understanding has always been that the metal 'skin' was intended as a heat-trap, while not preventing the cold weather from forcing the barrel wood to contract when Winter set in. Anybody else have something to add about insulating a 'standard-appearing' rickhouse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 Well, let me see if I can 'splain this some. (At least to the best of my memory.) Vosgar and/or Galvin0791 can correct me if I'm wrong, but Vosgar has CRS too. Mike ain't no spring chicken either, and he's a freakin' rookie to boot. Moving forward, BT is trying as best as they can to maintain their current level of consistency concerning their products. All of BT's current rickhouses are either brick/block or cement. BT has thought about the differences of these and clad rickhouses, and what difference it might make when it comes to the aging of their products. The spray foam is but one answer. There is also the placement of the rickhouses to consider. BT's current rickhouses are down low along the river. Their new rickhouses are on the "farm", up high along a bluff overlooking the river. It appears to me that BT has really thought this out. Yes, I'm a Weller Whore. Yes, I pretty much like all things BT. My love for Weller/BT aside, I'm pretty sure a company isn't going to invest 1.2 billion dollars without thinking things through, and doing a helluva lot of homework. Know what I mean Vern? Biba! Joe 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcpfratn Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Well, let me see if I can 'splain this some. (At least to the best of my memory.) Vosgar and/or Galvin0791 can correct me if I'm wrong, but Vosgar has CRS too. Mike ain't no spring chicken either, and he's a freakin' rookie to boot. Moving forward, BT is trying as best as they can to maintain their current level of consistency concerning their products. All of BT's current rickhouses are either brick/block or cement. BT has thought about the differences of these and clad rickhouses, and what difference it might make when it comes to the aging of their products. The spray foam is but one answer. There is also the placement of the rickhouses to consider. BT's current rickhouses are down low along the river. Their new rickhouses are on the "farm", up high along a bluff overlooking the river. It appears to me that BT has really thought this out. Yes, I'm a Weller Whore. Yes, I pretty much like all things BT. My love for Weller/BT aside, I'm pretty sure a company isn't going to invest 1.2 billion dollars without thinking things through, and doing a helluva lot of homework. Know what I mean Vern? [emoji6] Biba! Joe That makes some sense to me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil T Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Amazing that they are building 30 of those monsters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 11 hours ago, Phil T said: Amazing that they are building 30 of those monsters! When I asked about that, there seemed to be a slight bit of hesitation on our tour guides part. Upon further review, that's the plan for now, but it seems that the powers that be will be taking things one step at a time. For now, BT's plans are for a new rickhouse somewhere around every six moths or so depending. Your guess is as good as mine as to what that means. I do have to add one other thing here. A brand new rick house doesn't smell near as good as one that's been around a few decades. Biba! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 4 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said: I do have to add one other thing here. A brand new rick house doesn't smell near as good as one that's been around a few decades. Biba! Joe ^^^ TRUTH!!! Nothing at all like the aged ones all over KY to put one in the right frame of mind. I imagine the new ones will eventually gain some of that same aroma though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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