Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is the home to nearly 4,000 plants, has just been awarded Level II arboretum accreditation by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and the Morton Arboretum. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism. Buffalo Trace Distillery is also now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants.
Buffalo Trace has long offered complimentary, in-person tours focused on its bourbon and history and occasionally guided tours of its gardens, which have been a big hit. Now fans can learn even more about Buffalo Trace’s diverse collection of plant life, with a new online tool designed to provide more information about each of the plants represented on site. To use the tool, visit www.BuffaloTraceDistillery.com and navigate to the Arboretum & Botanical Gardens Tour under the Visit Us tab, or follow this link https://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/our-tours/botanical-gardens-tour.html and then click to explore. Here users can research the Distillery’s plants by family, genus, or location on site and even explore the Distillery grounds by map.
The new feature offers a way to explore the more than 400 acres of lush gardens, carefully manicured lawns, and the resplendent variety of trees on the grounds. From the Albert B. Blanton Botanical Gardens surrounding his 1934-built residence on the Distillery’s campus, to the floral displays adorning the Visitor Center and the landscapes in between, all of the flourishing life at 113 Great Buffalo Trace is in areas accessible to visitors in-person, and now online too.
The Level II arboretum accreditation requires a public education program, at least 100 labelled woody taxa varieties, and a documented inventory of accessions. The Distillery has currently accessioned and mapped about 4,000 plants, of which there are 1,600 trees, 1,000 shrubs, and 1,400 herbaceous perennial plants.