Mint Julep Tours has introduced its latest exclusive experience Bourbon Rocks & Ruins uncovering the history of O.F.C. Distillery. Bourbon enthusiasts and historians alike will enjoy this special tour digging into the excavated ruins of Col. E.H. Taylor’s late 1800s operation, nicknamed Bourbon Pompeii, on the grounds of the current Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. Highlights include an extensive private tour of the excavation site led by Bourbon Archaeologist Nick Laracuente, guided tasting of Buffalo Trace Distillery bourbons in the Old Taylor House, and a craft cocktail paired with appetizers in the George T. Stagg Gallery. Bourbon Rocks & Ruins departs Thursday, Nov. 2 from the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville at 3:45 p.m. and returns at 9:30 p.m. The cost is $175 per person. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket will benefit the Woodford County Heritage Committee. For more information or to make reservations, visit mintjuleptours.com/book-a-tour/elevated-experiences.
Inside the O.F.C. Distillery
Mint Julep Tours partners with Kentucky’s best destinations to offer unique tours enhanced with history, behind-the-scenes access and specialized tastings. Bourbon Rocks & Ruins digs deeper into the O.F.C. Distillery than any other tour available. Guests will visit century-old spaces throughout the grounds learning from the state’s leading bourbon-focused archaeologist, Nick Laracuente. From the Old Taylor House, the oldest residential structure in the county, to the relics in the George T. Stagg Gallery, every aspect of this insider tour is rich with history.
The Bourbon Archaeologist
Laracuente studies lost and forgotten distilleries across Kentucky one artifact at a time. His research focuses on uncovering distilling and imbibing traditions of the past, many of which were wiped out by Prohibition. Bourbon Rocks & Ruins will support future preservation of Kentucky’s abandoned historical sites, donating $20 of each ticket purchase to the Woodford County Heritage Committee.
The Bourbon Aristocrat
Born in Columbia in 1832, Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. was a descendant of two U.S. presidents and lived an aristocratic life as a banker before entering the world of whiskey. He would become known as the father of the modern bourbon industry through innovations into industrial spirits production which were groundbreaking when he opened O.F.C. Distillery in 1873. His flagship product, Old Fire Copper whiskey, melded traditions of distillers before him with forward-thinking processes and marketing.
