If you’re heading to the Paris Olympics this summer and happen to be a whiskey fan, you’re in luck. Kentucky distillery Buffalo Trace, where brands like Pappy Van Winkle, W.L. Weller, and George T. Stagg are produced, has a pop-up that launches today in the City of Light. A lucky few will also get the chance to try the new Weller Millennium, a new addition to the lineup that is already pretty hard to find.
Buffalo Trace is opening a temporary retail store through August 26 in Paris’ 2nd arrondissement, the Les Halles District. Visitors will get to purchase bottles of bourbon and rye that are whiskey fan favorites but not impossible to get ahold of otherwise, including the core Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Weller 12, Eagle Rare, and Sazerac Rye. This comes on the heels of a new London retail location in May, so the team at Buffalo Trace seems confident that their reputation spans the Atlantic, and also translates into French. “While everyone is welcome to visit Buffalo Trace Distillery in the United States, we want to make it easier for Paris residents and visitors to learn, explore, try, and fall in love with our whiskeys,” said Buffalo Trace homeplace director Ed Bell in a statement. “We know there will be an increase in foot traffic to the city in July and August, and our prime location will give visitors an excuse to go beyond sporting and cultural events while in town.”
As mentioned before, there will also be a chance for a lucky few to try Weller Millennium, a blend of whiskeys aged up to 25 years that went on sale a few months ago for $7,500 per bottle (but is already selling for much more than that at some secondary retail websites). This tasting, which will include a few other Weller expressions as well, takes place at the invite-only lounge 12 Gold. In order to secure a spot for you and up to three others, you just do the following—follow @buffalotracedistillery_UK_EU on Instagram, like the grid post highlighting the 12 Gold tasting experience, and tag another person you want to invite to join you. Winners will be chosen at random and will receive a DM a day before their tasting time slot, but only have four hours to respond.
Lastly, you can find cocktails made with Weller 12 at the Experimental Cocktail Club Paris (ECC) located at 37 Rue Saint Sauveur. This will be a two-week residency lasting from July 26 to August 10, during which guest bartenders from around the country will make different cocktails using this wheated bourbon.
The Buffalo Trace Distillery Paris retail store will be open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
