When severe flooding hit Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery in April 2025, it affected almost every part of the operation, including the home of one of bourbon’s most important traditions: single barrel selection. The historic Warehouse H, where Elmer T. Lee created Blanton’s and sparked the single barrel movement, suffered damage to its annex.
For Susannah Hubler, Sazerac Barrel Select Experience Manager at Buffalo Trace, the challenge quickly became an opportunity. The restoration inspired a renewed focus on education and authenticity, resulting in the launch of the new Warehouse Experience.
I sat down with Susannah to discuss the reopening of Warehouse H, the launch of the Warehouse experience, and how the SBS is opening the world of single barrel bourbon to a wider audience, one pour at a time.
Rebuilding Warehouse H – Respecting Tradition While Enhancing the Experience
The damage from April’s flood was uneven across the Buffalo Trace campus. Some buildings saw several feet of water, while others only a few inches. Warehouse H, built on elevated ground, escaped the worst of it, but even shallow flooding was enough to ruin its annex, the space where Sazerac Barrel Select hosts its private selections.
“The annex was added on after the warehouse was initially built,” said Hubler. “The entire interior was covered in wood paneling, and when we did the rebuild, we found the original windows from the warehouse before we built on the annex.”
That discovery offered a chance to reconnect with history. Warehouse H isn’t just another rickhouse. It’s the birthplace of single barrel bourbon. It was here that Colonel Albert B. Blanton once handpicked his finest “honey barrels” to share with visiting guests. Those same barrels later inspired Elmer T. Lee, who created Blanton’s Bourbon in tribute to his former mentor.
The rebuilt annex now reflects that legacy. The team preserved the metal cladding and added storytelling details about Elmer T. Lee, keeping what Hubler called “the raw, authentic feel” that makes the space so special.
What Is Sazerac Barrel Select – From Barrel to Bottle, And More
The Sazerac Barrel Select program is designed to bring whiskey lovers closer to the craft. It allows individuals and small groups to hand-select their own single barrel from a Sazerac distillery, including Buffalo Trace and Weller.
Membership is completely free, yet it opens the door to rare experiences that most bourbon fans only dream of. Members who are lucky enough to be selected in the quarterly draw can tour the distillery, sample several barrels, and choose the one that fits their personal taste. Each bottle from the chosen barrel is filled, labeled, and customised before being shipped alongside the empty barrel itself.
“We have people who’ve been members for years who just want to learn more and get insider access,” said Hubler. “Not everyone joins ready to buy a barrel.”
With more than 100,000 members across the US and the UK, SBS has evolved into a growing global community. It’s an opportunity to explore bourbon’s individuality, to see how one barrel can differ from another, and to experience what it’s like to be a master distiller for a day.
The New Warehouse Experience – A Hands-On Education in Maturation
The new Warehouse Experience brings bourbon education to life. It gives members the chance to visit three different warehouses on the Buffalo Trace campus and taste bourbon thieved straight from the barrel in each one.
“Customers get to see bourbon being thieved straight from a barrel,” said Hubler. “A whiskey thief is a giant copper straw that we put into the bung of the barrel, and it’s how we draw out samples.”
Each stop on the tour reveals how different environments shape a whiskey’s flavor. The warehouses vary by material, design, and age. Some are brick, others metal, and each has its own airflow and light. After sampling at barrel proof, guests taste 90-proof versions from each warehouse and choose a bottle from their favorite to take home.
“It’s one thing to tell people warehouses are different,” said Hubler. “It’s another to actually take them there so they can feel the humidity, smell the air, and taste how it changes the bourbon.”
Bringing the Experience Overseas – The UK Connection
Sazerac’s education-first approach isn’t limited to Kentucky. The company is also connecting with drinkers abroad through its Buffalo Trace Distillery London location, which opened in 2024. Earlier this year, the Sazerac Barrel Select program launched a tasting experience in London that mirrors the Warehouse Experience in spirit, even if not in setting.
During the London sessions, guests taste samples from three different warehouses and learn how construction, airflow, and microclimate influence maturation. They also leave with a bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, giving them a tangible link to the process.
“As we go into new markets, a lot of people don’t understand what makes bourbon so special,” said Hubler. “Why is it different from scotch? Why can scotch be so old, but then an eight-year-old bourbon is something people are trying to get their hands on?”
The London experience builds that understanding step by step, introducing bourbon to an audience that’s curious, growing, and eager to learn.
Behind the Barrel – How Warehouse Conditions Shape Bourbon
One of the key lessons from the Warehouse Experience is that no two barrels age the same way. Even within a single distillery, construction, climate, and light can create dramatic differences in flavor.
Hubler explained that Buffalo Trace single barrels typically age between eight and eight and a half years, most often on the middle floors of each warehouse. Those barrels can vary widely depending on their exact position.
“We found that barrels that sit directly by a window in the aisleway can taste completely different,” she said. “It really can come down to the exact position of a barrel when we talk about single barrel bourbons.”
At Buffalo Trace, warehouses range from nine floors to seven, with materials spanning metal, brick, and cinder block. Some have concrete floors, others wood. Even window placement changes how heat and air circulate.
That variation is why single barrel bourbon is so distinctive—and why the Warehouse Experience is such a powerful educational tool. It turns theory into taste, letting visitors discover how the smallest details shape the whiskey in their glass.
Looking Ahead – Growth, New Brands, and a More Connected Future
The April flood caused major disruption, but it also reinforced the team’s commitment to keep moving forward. “We didn’t want to completely stop offering barrel selections,” said Hubler. “People had been waiting years to potentially have this opportunity.”
While Warehouse H was being rebuilt, the team created a temporary space so guests could still visit. Now that the original site is open again, experiences are booked out around three months in advance.
Sazerac has also begun expanding the program beyond Kentucky. “We have plans to offer more tour and tasting experiences at all of our different locations,” Hubler said. “We’re wanting to do some cool stuff at the Sazerac House in New Orleans and more for our UK program.”
Recent highlights include the first Elmer T. Lee barrel sweepstake in 15 years and the addition of Sazerac Rye 100 Proof to the selection. As the program grows, so does its purpose: to give whiskey lovers everywhere a more personal connection to the spirit they enjoy.
Education Through Experience
At its core, Sazerac Barrel Select is about more than bourbon. It’s about the connection between people, place, and process.
Hubler described how both new and experienced drinkers have responded to the Warehouse Experience. “Everybody had a fun time,” she said. “Even novice bourbon drinkers were able to taste differences. Some picked their bottle because they liked the flavor, others because it was filled on their birthday or their child’s birthday.”
That accessibility is what makes the program stand out. It takes the mystery out of bourbon without stripping away its magic. Visitors come away understanding why environment, craftsmanship, and time matter, but also why personal experience is at the heart of whiskey appreciation.
For Buffalo Trace, the reopening of Warehouse H is a reminder that education, transparency, and storytelling remain as vital to bourbon’s future as the warehouses where it matures.
To become a member of the Sazerac Barrel Select program and to find out more information, visit the SBS website.
Read the full article at Inside Warehouse H: Rebuilding the Sazerac Barrel Select Experience at Buffalo Trace
