Woodford Reserve Distillery Opens Renovated Visitor Center

09 Apr 2014 --- Woodford Reserve officially opened its visitor center at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, after completing a renovation project. Paul Varga, CEO of Brown-Forman, was joined by Governor Steve Beshear and Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris at the official opening of the renovated visitor center.

This $1.9 million renovation includes the addition of a tasting room, improvements to the retail space and aesthetic enhancements.

“Woodford Reserve is delighted to showcase the renovated visitor center to our distillery visitors,” said Chris Morris, Woodford Reserve Master Distiller. “The interest and excitement in the bourbon industry and its impact on tourism continues to grow, and the new enhancements at Woodford Reserve will help us continue to provide an exceptional experience to our guests.”

The renovations at the Woodford Reserve Distillery visitor center, located off McCracken Pike in Versailles, Kentucky, began in November 2013. In addition to creating a dedicated tasting room, the visitor center enhancements include new furniture and displays, an expanded foodservice counter, upgrades to the retail shop, lighting improvements, modifications to the entrances and exits, additional restrooms and improvements to the overall aesthetics. Visitors may enjoy a panoramic view of the scenic distillery grounds from the new tasting room which is lined with copper stools. A fireplace with copper detail separates the lounge area from the tasting room. The tabletops in the visitor center and tables in the tasting room are crafted using reclaimed wood from a barn on the distillery property. Coffee tables in the main area of the visitor center are built from a cypress vat once used at the distillery. As part of the project, Woodford Reserve also received tax incentives through the Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet’s Tourism Development Act.

One of the fastest-growing super premium bourbons, Woodford Reserve was introduced in 1996 and the visitor center opened in the same year. The Woodford Reserve Distillery, one of the locations on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, has received increasing numbers of visitors since its opening with approximately 130,000 visitors during the last year.

In addition to the visitor center renovations, Woodford Reserve announced last spring a production expansion at the distillery to meet the expected growing global demand. Currently underway, this $35 million production expansion will build new maturation warehouses and fermenters, increase bottling line capacity and add new stills as needed.