America's oldest-running distillery, still reeling from historic floods, reopens in time for the Kentucky Derby
Frankfort, Kentucky — For more than two centuries, the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfurt, Kentucky, has bottled up scores of spirits on its 400-acre campus.
But America's oldest-running distillery ground to a halt last month amid historic and deadly flooding, when Buffalo Trace master distiller Harlen Wheatley says the nearby Kentucky River rose to over 48 feet.
"Every building that you see had four or five feet of water in it, all over…the site," Wheatley told CBS News.
Tyler Adams, the distillery's general manager, says Buffalo Trace has weathered storms before, including a campus-wide flood in 1978 and tornado speed winds damaging multiple buildings in 2006.
"We've been through prohibition, other floods, tornadoes that took off part of a warehouse," Adams said.
The bourbon crafters said there are no plans to move to higher ground.
"We have no plans of slowing down," Wheatley said. "…That water's just a speed bump."
Crews hurried to restore tanks ahead of the distillery's busiest days, dubbed "Derby Week" by locals ahead of Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
"You need bourbon, you need mint juleps, and you need horses," local Colleen Calvy said. "Otherwise, it's not derby."
And visitors flocking to the Run for the Roses also raced to Buffalo Trace's gift shop this week, as the distillery reopened for limited tours and tastings.
Layne Wilkerson, Frankfort's mayor, says the soft reopening marks a step in the right direction for a community still reeling from disaster.
"It's an iconic part of our identity here in Frankfort," Wilkerson said. "Bourbon, of course, is one of our major industries."
Wheatley says seeing the distillery back up and running "means something to us too."
"We have 770 employees," Wheatley said. "We have a lot of families that depend on the job...and we want to be up and running."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
A strategy for pacing out your bets on Belmont Stakes day
It's a cliché, but betting — especially on Belmont Stakes day — is a marathon, not a sprint. Becoming a profitable handicapper is not just about picking winners and finding an edge. A pillar of success in betting is managing two things — your bankroll and your emotions. We'll start with bankroll management. Your bankroll refers to the amount of money you have allocated for betting. In other words, the amount of money you would be comfortable losing. For some people, that number could be high. For others, it could be quite low. Bet with your head, not over it. When it comes to a day such as the Belmont Stakes, bankroll management becomes even more important because, in all likelihood, you're going to want to have some scratch in your pocket to bet the headliner at 7:04 p.m. That means you're going to essentially have two separate pools of money: one for the Belmont Stakes and one for the undercard, which gets underway at 10:45 a.m. and features seven other stakes races. It's a magnificent day for railbirds, but it can get spoiled quickly if you're not in control of your impulses. And what makes this day of racing especially tricky for those who may struggle with keeping their emotions in check when it comes to betting is that there is a really tempting 'chase' opportunity in the Belmont Stakes. The 2025 Belmont is headlined by two clear favorites, No. 7 Journalism (8-5) and No. 2 Sovereignty (2-1). Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty gets a bath on June 6, 2025 in preparation for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Getty Images There will be plenty of casual punters who will plan on ending their day with a big bet on one or both of these horses. If you've been betting long enough, you know this feeling. Perhaps it was on Day 1 of March Madness or the first Saturday of the college football season, but we've all dealt with the temptation of chasing a day of losses with one final bet on a 'sure thing' late in the night (it's why Hawaii football games attract an unusually large number of bets during the fall). Nobody wants to be lectured about betting, or see someone get on their soapbox, but any seasoned gambler will say that resisting the urge to chase their losses was a huge step in the right direction. For the purposes of using a round number, let's say you have a bankroll of $200 for Saturday. Immediately, you should decide how much of that you want to leave for the Belmont Stakes. Mike Repoli is the owner of Uncaged who is running in Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Jason Szenes / New York Post Sticking with the round numbers, we'll put $20 aside for the Belmont (along with stashing away any profits from earlier wins), allowing us $180 to gamble with on the full menu of races leading up to the main event. But there's also a chance you're going to want to be a part of the Mandatory Payout Pick 5, which begins with the Jaipur (Race 9, 4:08 p.m.) and wraps up with the Belmont Stakes. By entering the Pick 5, you not only give yourself a shot at a life-changing amount of money, but you'll also have action on each race, so long as you're still in it, without having to bet anymore. We can put $54 aside for the Pick 5, which allows you plenty of room to build a decent ticket, and leaves you with $126 to bet on the rest of the races. It's not the most exciting part of the game, but mapping out a strategy like this before you enter the gates Saturday will go a long way in helping you walk out feeling like a winner.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Warren Buffett Advocates for Balanced Trade Over Tariffs. Could Import Certificates Provide a Better Path for the Stock Market?
Buffett thinks import certificates would be better than tariffs. With Buffett's idea, U.S. exporters would receive import certificates that they could sell to companies importing goods to the U.S. His idea would likely be better for stocks because it would remove the uncertainty associated with the Trump administration's trade policy. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Warren Buffett has been in the business world for more than seven decades. He also reads voraciously. It shouldn't be surprising, therefore, that the legendary investor has an opinion on tariffs. In a nutshell, he doesn't like them. In a March 2025 interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell, Buffett called tariffs "an act of war, to some degree." However, the Oracle of Omaha put forward an intriguing alternative to tariffs years ago that's still garnering attention today. In 2003, Buffett wrote an article for Fortune magazine warning about the U.S. trade deficit. He noted that trade deficits began to concern him going back to 1987. Buffett wrote, "We were taught in Economics 101 that countries could not for long sustain large, ever-growing trade deficits." Buffett didn't just point out the problem, though. He presented a potential solution that he called import certificates. His idea was to issue these import certificates to all U.S. exporters. The exporters would get import certificates equal to the dollar value of the products they exported to other countries. They would then be able to sell their import certificates to anyone wanting to import products into the U.S. For example, let's suppose Acme Corporation exports $1 million in products from the U.S. to other countries. Acme would receive $1 million worth of import certificates that it could sell to any other company seeking to export products from other countries to the U.S. The end result would be a trade balance. Buffett acknowledged, "My remedy may sound gimmicky, and in truth it is a tariff called by another name." However, there are major differences between his proposed import certificates and the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. For one thing, Buffett's idea doesn't try to protect specific industries as the president's steel tariffs do. Nor do they attempt to punish specific countries like Trump's initial calls for exceptionally high tariffs on China and the European Union. What happened after Buffett proposed import certificates in 2003? Nothing. Fortune reposted the article in 2016. Buffett said then that he still agreed for the most part with what he originally wrote. However, he acknowledged that the problem of trade deficits had "diminished a bit" thanks to lower oil prices and increased domestic production of oil. Does Buffett still like the idea of import certificates? He told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders at their annual meeting in May 2025 that the idea is "certainly better than what we're talking about now." Buffett expressed concern about the impact the Trump administration's tariffs are having on other countries' views of the U.S. He said at the Berkshire shareholder meeting: [I]t's a big mistake when you have 7.5 billion people who don't like you very well, and you have 300 million people crowing about how well they've done. I don't think it's right, and I don't think it's wise. The more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won't be at our expense -- the more prosperous we'll become and the safer we'll feel and your children will feel someday. The 94-year-old multibillionaire argued, "The main thing is that trade should not be a weapon." He continues to believe that "balanced trade is good for the world." You might have noticed a pattern with the stock market in 2025. News about increased tariffs or tariff threats from the Trump administration has usually caused stocks to sink. But any hints that tariffs will be eased or delayed, even temporarily, have typically caused stocks to rise. It doesn't take an investing guru to see that tariffs have been perceived as bad for stocks. Would Buffett's import certificates pave a better path for the stock market? I think so. If nothing else, Buffett's idea would remove the animosity that punitive tariffs could create with major U.S. trading partners and be much less likely to ignite a trade war that could cause economic harm. Perhaps more importantly, though, Buffett's proposal would remove much of the uncertainty that has been prevalent with President Trump's tariffs. Buffett developed a logical and structured market-based approach to address trade deficits. Instead of on-again, off-again tariffs with rates that change frequently, investors would know what to expect. However, Buffett didn't seem to have much hope that his import certificates would gain traction at Berkshire Hathaway's recent shareholder meeting. He joked, "[D]on't expect my import certificate idea to go down in history with Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations." Investors might wish otherwise. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $363,030!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,088!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $674,395!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Keith Speights has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Warren Buffett Advocates for Balanced Trade Over Tariffs. Could Import Certificates Provide a Better Path for the Stock Market? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Trump Calls Anyone Who'll Listen to Prove He's Not Thinking About Elon
The White House frantically worked to move forward from this week's blowup between President Donald Trump and his former first buddy Elon Musk. But the frenzied level at which the president insisted everything is all good suggested the opposite. The president did what amounted to a weekday version of a 'Full Ginsburg' Friday morning when he spoke with reporters from across the major television networks and got his thoughts off his chest. It's hard to believe everything is fine when the president was going full-court press with those he has blasted as 'fake' at one point or another. In one brief call, the president spoke to CNN's Dana Bash. 'I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem,' Trump said. But the president's media blitz did not stop there. When ABC News' Jonathan Karl called shortly before 7 a.m., the president picked up the phone. During that conversation, Trump called Musk the 'man who has lost his mind.' He also said he was 'not particularly' interested in talking with the world's richest man right now, despite early reports of plans for a call between the two being in the works. Then there was the call with CBS News Friday morning. The president told the network's Robert Costa he was 'totally' focused on domestic and foreign policy. 'That's all I focus on,' Trump said. 'I don't focus on anything else.' Also Friday morning, there was a call with Fox News, where the president told Bret Baier he was not interested in discussing Musk but got in that 'Elon's totally lost it.' The president's early chats with reporters did not just stop with television networks. He also spoke with one of his favorite papers, the New York Post. During that brief phone call, the president reportedly played it cool and insisted 'nothing catches me by surprise. Nothing,' when asked about the personal attacks on him from his one-time close ally. He also had a brief chat with Politico, a favorite target of criticism of the Trump administration, on Thursday. Of the breakup, Trump said 'Oh, it's okay' and claimed 'it's going very well, never done better.' Perhaps the president really does want to just get past the not-so-beautiful breakup. He also spoke of his polling numbers, inflation, and gas prices on his Friday morning calls. But it was unusual for the president to do such a widespread round robin like the one the world saw Friday morning, insisting Musk isn't top of mind. By Friday afternoon, Trump made another somewhat out-of-character move: he remained quiet. The president did not take questions as he departed the White House on Friday afternoon. It was not the first time he made an exit without seeking out the press. But after fielding calls across the board hours before, it was notable to reject giving more oxygen to their relationship.
