Barton 1792

Type: Distillery and brand

A distillery in a valley beside a spring, with most of its warehouses on the plateau above, positioned for air flow: historian Chuck Cowdery’s description captures the defining shape of Barton 1792. This sprawling Bardstown, Kentucky, site separates the distillery below from much of its barrel storage above.[6]

Owned by Sazerac Company through Barton Brands, Barton 1792 takes its name from two distinct moments. Barton became the distillery’s identity in 1944; 1792 marks Kentucky’s statehood, not the beginning of whiskey making here.[3][6][9]

What Barton 1792 is known for

Barton brings several chapters of Kentucky whiskey history together: the nineteenth century Tom Moore distillery, the Barton name introduced by Oscar Getz, and the 1792 bourbon brand launched in 2002. Very Old Barton and Kentucky Tavern are also made here. The distillery and the 1792 range are related, but they are not interchangeable names.[9][10]

Its importance extends beyond the bourbon carrying the statehood year. From summer 2021, the transfer of Early Times brought that brand’s distilling, ageing and bottling to Barton, widening the work associated with the site.[4]

There is a physical thread through this long history, too. Most of the present distillery dates from the 1940s, but part of an original building survives within it. Barton is neither simply a nineteenth century relic nor only the home of a brand launched in 2002: its buildings and responsibilities reflect successive chapters of Kentucky whiskey making.[6][10]

Barton 1792 history: two beginnings

Barton’s history begins in either 1876 or 1879, depending on what is being dated. The owner uses 1879 and describes Barton as Bardstown’s oldest fully operating distillery. Cowdery starts three years earlier, when Tom Moore and Ben Mattingly established Mattingly & Moore on the site in 1876, with financial help from John Willett.[3][4][6]

In Cowdery’s account, Moore then built the neighbouring Tom Moore Distillery in 1879. That was the plant which became Barton. The distinction is between the start of whiskey making on the site and the establishment of the particular distillery that later took the Barton name.[6]

Story box: the two beginnings of Barton

Verdict badge: Disputed

The claim that Barton was founded in 1879 follows the owner’s account; Cowdery dates whiskey making on the site to 1876.[3][6] The disagreement concerns different starting points, rather than competing dates for the same event. Neither the earliest account establishing either date nor an exact checking day is identified in the supplied record. The owner’s and Cowdery’s accounts linked above were last checked in November 2026.

From Tom Moore to Sazerac

Oscar Getz gave Barton its name when he acquired the Tom Moore Distillery in 1944. He sold it after retiring in the 1970s. Canandaigua, later Constellation Brands, took over in 1993.[9][10]

Sazerac acquired the distillery in January 2009, according to Cowdery. The company’s own corporate history records the 2009 Constellation transaction too, including both Barton 1792 and Glenmore. Together, the accounts establish that ownership transition without filling gaps in the intervening history by inference.[1][6]

The Early Times transfer brought a commitment to continuity as well as a change of location. Sazerac stated that Early Times Bottled in Bond would keep its original recipe and mash bill, meaning its grain recipe, at Barton.[4]

The warehouses above the distillery

Wood floors, wooden ricks and metal siding feature in Sazerac’s description of Barton’s new warehouses. They belong to a property of about 79 hectares (196 acres), with Morton Spring and Tom Moore Spring among its features.[3][4]

Sazerac’s 2021 account listed 28 warehouses and 22 other buildings; the 2026 trade guide reports 29 ageing warehouses. These are dated descriptions with differently worded categories, so the earlier figure should not be used as a current count.[3][4][9]

Warehouse 33 was the first new warehouse built here since 1963, according to the owner. Designed to hold 33,500 barrels, it received its first barrels on 25 February 2021. The owner’s published account says the three new warehouses together increased storage capacity by 25 percent.[3]

Warehouse H offers an older counterpart. Trade accounts describe it as a 1940s rickhouse holding about 20,000 barrels. These capacities measure barrel storage, rather than annual whiskey production.[8][9]

Understanding the 1792 range

The bourbon now known simply as 1792 began in 2002 as Ridgewood Reserve 1792. A Brown-Forman trademark dispute prompted the change to 1792 Ridgemont Reserve; after Sazerac’s acquisition, the name became 1792. These are chapters in one brand’s history, not a succession of different distilleries.[10][11]

Verdict badge: Documented

The name 1792 refers to Kentucky’s statehood year, not the distillery’s founding. The historical accounts place the distillery’s origins in the nineteenth century, with no contrary evidence found in the supplied record.[3][6] The sources are Cowdery’s account and the owner’s account. The earliest source establishing the claim is not identified. Last checked: November 2026; the exact day is not documented.

For a first look at the range, the 2026 guide supplies five names: Small Batch, Full Proof, Aged Twelve Years, Bottled in Bond and Sweet Wheat. They identify distinct releases, not a recipe or specification shared by everything Barton produces.[9]

Full Proof offers a concrete point of interest. Bourbon historian Michael Veach reports that it is bottled at 62.5% ABV (125 US proof), the whiskey’s barrel entry strength. That is the reference behind the expression’s name, rather than a description of its flavour.[10]

No site tasting is included in the supplied record. The distinctions here therefore rest on documented release names and production information, without adding tasting impressions.

The 2018 warehouse collapse

Warehouse 30 began collapsing on 22 June 2018. About 9,000 barrels fell during the first stage, and the remainder of the warehouse fell on 4 July. Cowdery reported that nobody was injured.[6][7][9]

The incident was substantial locally, but its scale needs context. Cowdery estimated that the barrels involved represented about a third of one percent of Kentucky’s ageing whiskey stock. That estimate does not support the idea that the collapse materially depleted the state’s bourbon supply.[6]

Visiting and common misunderstandings

Public tours ended on 30 June 2022, following an announcement on 7 April. No reopening announcement appears in the November 2026 record. Trade private barrel selections continue, but these are separate from ordinary visitor tours.[9]

The former visitor centre opened on 10 May 2011 in the building that originally housed the Oscar Getz Museum. The museum itself opened in Spalding Hall in 1984. References to the museum and to the former distillery visitor centre therefore point to different locations.[8][9]

Two common confusions are easily cleared up:

• 1792 is not the founding year. It marks Kentucky’s statehood. The accounts date the distillery’s origins to 1876 or 1879.[3][6]
• An old Bourbon Trail listing is not current visiting advice. Barton joined the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 2008, withdrew in early 2010 and ended public tours in 2022.[9]

Check the official site before making travel arrangements. If tours resume, check booking, accessibility and tour age rules. Historical tour descriptions should not be used as confirmation of present access.

Where to go next

• Buffalo Trace: explore another American distillery profile.
• Maker's Mark: continue reading about Kentucky whiskey production.
• Heaven Hill: Evan Williams and Elijah Craig: distinguish another distillery’s identity from its brands.

Sources

1. Sazerac Company. Our Story. Undated corporate history, owner’s account. https://www.sazerac.com/our-company/our-story/
2. Sazerac Company, reproduced by Breaking Bourbon. Barton 1792 Distillery Constructs, Begins Filling First New Warehouse Since the 1960s. 2021 press release, owner’s account. https://www.breakingbourbon.com/bourbon-whiskey-press-releases/barton-1792-distillery-constructs-begins-filling-first-new-warehouse-since-the-1960s
3. Sazerac Company, reproduced by Breaking Bourbon. Sazerac Announces Plans for Early Times Whiskey. 2021 press release, owner’s account. https://www.breakingbourbon.com/bourbon-whiskey-press-releases/sazerac-announces-plans-for-early-times-whiskey
4. The Whiskey Wash, Chuck Cowdery. Some Perspective on the Barton Whiskey Warehouse Collapse. 2018 trade commentary. https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styles/bourbon/perspective-barton-warehouse-collapse/
5. Courier Journal. Warehouse collapse scares neighbors. 24 June 2018, headline shortened in the supplied record. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/06/24/barton-1792-distillery-warehouse-collapse-shocks-kentucky-neighbors/729242002/
6. InPark Magazine. Barton 1792 Distillery Opens Visitor Center, Enhances Tours. 2011 trade report of Barton’s announcement. https://www.inparkmagazine.com/barton-1792-distillery-opens-visitor-center-enhances-tours/
7. Explore Bardstown. Barton 1792 Distillery: no public tours, and what to do instead. 2026 guide. https://explorebardstown.com/bourbon/barton-1792-distillery/
8. Bourbon Veach, Michael Veach. Tasting Notes: 1792 Full Proof. 20 December 2017. https://bourbonveach.com/2017/12/20/tasting-notes-1792-full-proof/
9. Brian Haara. Woodford v. Ridgewood: A Court Ordered Label Change for Barton's 1792 Bourbon. 17 July 2015, secondary account. https://brianhaara.com/2015/07/17/woodford-v-ridgewood-a-court-ordered-label-change-for-bartons-1792-bourbon/

This desk research article uses verified fact sheet TOP-A315, separating owner statements from trade reporting and preserving its disputed founding verdict.

Last checked: November 2026