By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Tuesday, March 2, 9 p.m. -- Two Kentucky distilleries -- including the former Barton Brands distillery in Bardstown -- have announced they are dropping out of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The Frankfort State-Journal reported Tuesday that Sazarec-owned Tom Moore Distillery and the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort will no longer be stops along the famous trail that leads bourbon fans through Central Kentucky.

Sazarec sent a letter to the Kentucky Distillers' Association on Dec. 31 saying the firm would leave the association and no longer take part in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Both distilleries and their information have already been removed from the Kentucky Bourbon Trail web site.

The State-Journal story reports that a Buffalo Trace spokesman said the decision to withdraw came after the firm evaluated its membership in the KDA. KDA members pay association dues based on 10 cents per barrel in their inventory. A Buffalo Trace spokesman said the distillery will continue to focus on welcoming tourists. A cooperage exhibit is being added and a new cafe will open in this spring.

The Gazette's sources report that bourbon production at the Tom Moore Distillery was closed down at the end of 2009 and won't gear back up until as late as November 2010. The distillery had been producing bourbon under contact, and those contracts have been fulfilled, sources say.

The bourbon trail was created in 1999 to highlight the production of Kentucky's unique native spirit. The trail includes Heaven Hill, Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Marker's Mark in Loretto, Woodford Reserve in Versailles, Four Roses and Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg.

KDA president Eric Gregory told the State-Journal bourbon trail members reported about 1.5 million visits from tourists between 2004 and 2009.