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The ‘Bourbon Pompeii’ at Buffalo Trace: Hear story from Nick Laracuenta at Newport History Museum


Newport History Museum at The Southgate Street School is presenting “The Unearthing of Bourbon Pompeii” by Nick Laracuenta on Friday, October 4, 6-7 p.m.

The excavated fermenters at Bourbon Pompeii (Photo/The Bourbon Review)

This event is FREE to attend and open to the public with limited seating at 215 East Southgate Street (directly behind the Hofbrauhaus)

Nick Laracuenta, Kentucky Heritage Council Guest Speaker, will discuss his project of “The Unearthing of Bourbon Pompeii” at Buffalo Trace in 2016.

What’s now known as “Bourbon Pompeii” was first discovered in 2016, when Buffalo Trace began renovations on the historic O.F.C. building to create a new event space. After breaking ground, brick and limestone structures were unearthed beneath the concrete floor.

The distillery immediately scrapped plans for renovation, choosing instead to preserve and restore this piece of bourbon history.

Between the scarcity of Pre-Prohibition records and a fire at what was then O.F.C. Distillery in 1882, establishing the timeline of the building wasn’t easy.

Nick Laracuenta


Buffalo Trace called on bourbon archaeologist Nicolas Laracuente to help excavate and research what he calls a “pristine” archaeological site.

For the complete Bourbon Pompeii discovery see this website.

To RSVP please call: 859-655-6357

The Newport History Museum will be open from Noon-2 p.m. every Saturday in October and November and during the East Row Victorian Christmas Walk the weekend of December 7th & 8th. They recently added historic collections to the Southgate Street School exhibit, recorded additional Oral Histories from former students and revealed a new Historic Preservation exhibit and artifact display in the Newport Room.

The Newport History Museum is FREE to visit and open to the public.


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