Historic flooding in Kentucky killed seven people last month, and 30 counties are seeking disaster assistance. The flooding also impacted the state's signature bourbon industry. Restoration efforts are underway at America's oldest distillery.

Kentucky

America's oldest distillery, Buffalo Trace, is undertaking restoration efforts following historic flooding in Kentucky. This natural disaster resulted in seven fatalities and led 30 counties to seek disaster assistance. The bourbon industry, an integral part of the state’s economy, faced significant disruptions, with Buffalo Trace affected as the Kentucky River rose dramatically, inundating the distillery.

Located in Frankfurt, Kentucky, Buffalo Trace is a significant player in the bourbon industry, employing 770 people and housing one million barrels. The distillery, operational for over two centuries, was forced to pause production as floodwaters reached unprecedented levels. Despite these challenges, there are no plans to reduce production; instead, infrastructure such as electronics and gas boilers is being repaired and moved to safer ground.

This is not the first time the distillery has faced flooding; previous notable instances occurred in 1997 and 1978. However, the recent flood has been recorded as the most severe in their history. In response, the distillery has updated its flood management plans. Restoration efforts were accelerated to welcome visitors for the busy Derby week, a prime time for bourbon enthusiasts.

Buffalo Trace has now resumed limited tours and tastings, signaling a step toward normalcy. This reopening is seen as a positive development not only for the bourbon industry but also for the local community of Frankfurt, heavily relying on the distillery for economic stability.



Nation's oldest distillery works to recover from historic floods

Kentucky has already gotten more than its fair share of rain last month. Historic flooding killed seven people and more than 30 counties are seeking disaster assistance. That flooding also impacted the state's signature industry. Nicole Skanga visited the bourbon capital of the world for a firsthand look at restoration efforts in America's oldest distillery. If you know whiskey, you know Kentucky bourbon. Well, this is a favorite. I like Blanton's as well. And if you know Kentucky bourbon, chances are you've heard of the buffalo trace distillery home to 770 employees and one million barrels. This sprawling campus in frankfurt Kentucky has produced scores of spirits for over two centuries, bottling up more than 100 labels. But America's oldest continually operating distillery ground to a halt last month amid historic floods. When a master distiller Harlan Wheatley says the nearby Kentucky River just kept rising. The river was coming up at about a foot an hour. By April 7th, the water was over our head about 10 ft deep where we're standing as electricians replace wiring and gas boilers. Wheatley says there are no plans to shrink production. All the electronics had to be replaced and fixed and and uh valving or move to higher ground. Can't have Kentucky bourbon without Kentucky. This 400 acre Kentucky campus has weathered its fair share of floods over the years memorialized on columns and walls inside the distillery. We were creative enough to market on these pillar over the years in 1997 was one of the more recent floods and that was a pretty bad one. But then 1978 and then as you can see from the watermarks, we were about almost a foot above the 1978 mark. But this year's waterline marked a new record. Harlan looking at this wall, you have a flood plan. Do you need a new flood plan? No, it's we actually did. We did update the flood plan. Every time it floods, we learn a little bit more things that we should do differently. Crews raced to restore tanks ahead of the distilleries busiest days dubbed Derby week by locals and visitors flocking to the run for the roses also raced here. You need bourbon, you need mint juleps and you need racehorses. Like otherwise it's not Derby crossing another item off their Kentucky bucket list. Heading into these weeks are the busiest weeks of the year. General manager Tyler Adams welcomed back visitors this week. Tour guides that are here doing tours, they were here, you know, going through the water, cleaning things up. Our retail team events team, everyone was pitching in to get everything back up and going. A lot of sleepless nights. Yes. The distillery now offers limited tours and tastings. Oh, now that's smoother. The soft reopen marks a step in the right direction, not just for bourbon lovers, but for a city still reeling from disaster to see it back up and running means something to frankfurt. Yeah, it means something to us too, because you know, we have 770 employees, we have a lot of families that depend on, depend on a job and you know, for us, the economy in the area and we want to be up and running. Cheers to resilience, a comeback story. Cheers. That will make you want to raise a glass for CBS saturday morning. I'm Nicole Skanga in frankfurt Kentucky. Great story, Nicole. But like, where's where's our buffalo trace? It is really amazing to see how quickly they can get things going again from the history and the things that they learned in the past that they're able to use. But I was like, Nicole, do you need a different floodplain? I know exactly when you think about that. It's like, what point do you need to move to higher ground or at least raise the roof? I don't know. Or this, there'll be the basement. They'll be raising the roof at the derby today. They certainly will.

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