As many of you already know, I received an internship at Buffalo Trace Distillery. A beautiful National Historic Landmark in Frankfort, Kentucky. No, we are not part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, but we do offer free tours and tastings. Listen to me trying to sell my company to you, but you don't have to listen to me. You will just have to see it to believe it.
I had never tried bourbon before until I started working at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Though I'm still not a huge bourbon lover, I can still take in what my company has to offer. I'm a marketing service intern in the marketing/sales department. I started in March, I have loved every minute of my experience at the distillery.
So you might be thinking, "What does my job entail when working at a distillery?" Well it includes many things like data research, checking out weekly blog posts, setting up tastings and my favorite thing, working distillery events. Throughout the year, Buffalo Trace has the most exciting events. On my first day working there, I worked the Easter Egg Hunt and man, was that a fun first day. I spent the day working lines for Easter Bunny pictures as well as spreading eggs all over the grass. Out of all the events that I have worked so far, my favorite one was the Pappy Van Winkle Dinner.
Everyone knows about Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and people are probably waiting in a line right now to get any bottle they can get their hands on. If you don't, you might not just be a bourbon lover. In June, we host a lottery style drawing for guests to come to the distillery and enjoy a dinner and tasting with members of the Van Winkle Family. Of course, the tasting consists of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. I was given a list of numbers to call to give them the news. It felt amazing to call the winners, who would tell me that I had made their day. Just a perk of my job of making bourbon lovers happy. People from all over the United States came to this one event. That's when you know Pappy is a big deal. Make that a HUGE DEAL! I even got to drive the Van Winkle father and son duo around and got a hat signed by them. You could say my dad had a great Father's day when I gave him the hat, even though he didn't win the dinner. It was a long shot since over a 1,000 people applied.
As I continue to grow within the distillery business, my experience has opened a new door for me in potentially considering applying in the alcohol industry. I never get tired of the fast paced atmosphere and the marketing behind the brands. If you haven't seen Buffalo Trace Distillery, you won't be disappointed. Make sure to stop by and try some of our award-winning bourbon.