Maker's Mark is a

small-batch Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey bu ...

bourbon whisky Bourbon whiskey (; also simply bourbon) is a barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon C ...

produced in

Loretto, Kentucky Loretto is a home rule-class city in Marion County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 723 at the 2020 census. It is best known as the home of the Maker's Mark bourbon distillery. History The city takes its name from the Sisters o ...

, by

Suntory Global Spirits Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces alcoholic beverages. It is the th ...

. It is bottled at 90 U.S.

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...

(45%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and is part of the

American Whiskey Trail The American Whiskey Trail is the name of a promotional program supported by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the distilled beverage industry in the U.S.Anderson, Mary Ann (June 24, 2007)Tipple-toe your way along th ...

and the

Kentucky Bourbon Trail The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, sometimes informally referred to as "the Bourbon Trail", is a program sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) to promote the Bourbon whiskey industry in Kentucky. The KDA has registered the phrase "K ...

History

Maker's Mark's origin began when T. William "Bill" Samuels Sr., purchased the Burks' Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, for $35,000Samuels To Step Down As Maker's Mark President
, Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press, 12 January 2011. on October 1, 1953. Production began in 1954, and the first run was bottled in 1958 under the brand's dipped red wax seal (U.S. trademark serial number 73526578). In the 1960s and 1970s, Maker's Mark was widely marketed with the tag line, "It tastes expensive ... and is." The distillery was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on December 31, 1974, and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on December 16, 1980, listed as "Burks' Distillery", the first distillery in America to be recognized while the landmark buildings were in active production. Maker's Mark was sold to Hiram Walker & Sons in 1981, which was acquired by the distillery giant

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

in 1987. In 2001, after Seagram's collapse, Allied-Domecq acquired Makers Mark. When Allied-Domecq was bought by

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...

in 2005, the Maker's Mark brand was sold to

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A northern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, Deerfield is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore, ...

–based Fortune Brands. Fortune Brands split in 2011, with its alcoholic beverage business becoming Beam Inc. After the brand's creation by Bill Samuels Sr., its production was overseen by his son Bill Samuels Jr. until 2011 when he announced his retirement as president and CEO at the age of 70. His son Rob Samuels succeeded him in April 2011. On February 9, 2013, the company sent a mass email announcing a plan to reduce the alcohol strength of the whiskey, citing supply issues as the reason for the change. The result of this change would have been to reduce the product from 90 U.S.

(45%

) to 84 U.S. proof (42% abv), which would have stretched inventory by about 6%. Maker's Mark said that their own tasting panel of distillery employees reported no taste difference in the lower proof, while industry analysts said that the difference would be subtle, and since most drinkers mix the bourbon or serve it on ice, few would be able to notice it. According to Neil Irwin for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''s ''

Wonkblog Wonkblog was a blog, hosted by ''The Washington Post'', that was dedicated to domestic policy, economics and politics. It was started by Ezra Klein, originally as a solo venture, but, by February 2013, had grown to employ a staff of five people. T ...

'', the decision can be explained by Beam's desire to keep Maker's Mark competitive as a premium bourbon at mid-range bars, and a

well drink A well drink or rail drink is an alcoholic beverage or mixed drink made using the lower-cost liquors stored within easy reach of the bartender in the bar's "speed rail", "speed rack", or "well", a rack or shelf at a lower level than the bar tha ...

among high-end bars. On February 17, the company said that it had reconsidered its decision after receiving a strong negative reaction from customers, and that it would continue to bottle at the original strength. Some overseas markets like Australia will continue to sell the whiskey at 40%. In January 2014, Beam Inc. announced its sale to

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...

, creating

Beam Suntory Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces alcoholic beverages. It is the th ...

, the third largest distilled spirits maker in the world. News of the proposed sale included bourbon executives vowing "the product taste won't change – and neither will the company's historic purity standards." In 2014, Maker's Mark released a Cask Strength Bourbon in limited quantities initially available to consumers only at their distillery gift shop. Proof fluctuates each batch between 53% and 58% abv. The product was released on the global market in July 2016. In November 2015 Beam Suntory announced a major expansion of the distillery. In November 2018,

Dave Pickerell David Steven Pickerell (August 14, 1956 – November 1, 2018) was an American distiller. He was considered the "Johnny Appleseed" or "founding father" of craft distilling. Early life and education Pickerell was born on August 14, 1956, in Fai ...

, who served as master distiller, died at 62 years old. Pickerell was called the "Johnny Appleseed of American Whiskey". In June 2019, the company announced it would begin selling Maker's Mark 101, bottled at 101 U.S. proof, at their distillery. The higher proof bourbon was first introduced at duty-free airport shops in 2018. In May 2024, Maker's Mark owner, Beam Suntory, was re-branded as

including the launch of a new website and visual identity.

About the bourbon

Maker's Mark is unusual in that no

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

is used as part of the mash. Instead of rye Maker's Mark uses red

winter wheat Winter wheat (usually ''Common wheat, Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. C ...

(16%), along with

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

(70%) and malted

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

(14%) in the mash bill. During the planning phase of Maker's Mark, Samuels allegedly developed seven candidate mash bills for the new bourbon. As he did not have time to distill and age each one for tasting, he instead made a loaf of bread from each recipe and the one with no rye was judged the best tasting. Samuels also received considerable assistance and recipes from Stitzel-Weller owner

Pappy Van Winkle Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve is the flagship brand of bourbon whiskey owned by the "Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery" company. It is distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Pappy Van ...

, whose distillery produced the wheated

Old Fitzgerald Old Fitzgerald is a brand of wheated bourbon distilled in Louisville, Kentucky, by Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. History Old Fitzgerald was first produced in 1870 for rail and steamship lines and private clubs located primarily in the sout ...

and W. L. Weller bourbons. Maker's Mark is aged for around six years, being bottled and marketed when the company's tasters agree that it is ready. Maker's Mark is one of the few distillers to rotate the barrels from the upper to the lower levels of the aging warehouses during the aging process to even out the differences in temperature during the process. The upper floors are exposed to the greatest temperature variations during the year, so rotating the barrels ensures that the bourbon in all the barrels has the same quality and taste. Maker's Mark is marketed as a ''

small batch Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey bu ...

'' Bourbon. Most producers of so-called small batch Bourbons do not clarify exactly what they mean by the term. The producer of Maker's Mark says that the traditional definition is "A bourbon that is produced/distilled in small quantities of approximately 1,000 gallons or less (20 barrels) from a mash bill of around 200 bushels of grain".Maker's Mark Bourbon Glossary
official web site.Maker's Mark Distillery Tour in Loretto, KY
Watch it made in the U.S.A.
, Edencroft Fine Wines. Maker's Mark is sold in squarish bottles that are sealed with red wax. T. William Samuels' wife, Marjorie "Margie" Samuels, gave the whiskey its name, drew its label, and thought up the wax dipping that gives the bottle its distinctive look. It was introduced to the market in 1959. Three varieties are marketed: the original, bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume); a

mint julep Mint julep is an alcoholic beverage, alcoholic cocktail, consisting primarily of Bourbon whiskey, bourbon, sugar, water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh Mentha, mint. As a bourbon-based cocktail, it is associated with the American South and the ...

flavor with green wax on the neck released seasonally in limited amounts; and Maker's 46 (47% alcohol by volume), a variety flavored by introducing seared French oak staves into the traditional charred white oak barrel toward the end of its aging. As of 2021, Maker's Mark is now available at up to 57% alcohol content (114 proof). Maker's Mark is, along with

George Dickel George Dickel is a brand of Tennessee whisky produced in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee. Today owned by Diageo, the modern brand was introduced in 1964, though the distillery has a longer history. Whisky production and aging takes pla ...

and

Old Forester Old Forester is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whisky produced by the Brown–Forman Corporation. It has been on the market continuously for longer than any other bourbon (approximately 150 years as of 2020), and was the first bourbon so ...

, one of a handful of American-made whiskies that uses the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

spelling "whisky" rather than the predominant American "whiskey".

Bourbon House & Lounge

Maker's Mark began creating branded restaurants with the October 2004 opening of Maker's Mark Bourbon House & Lounge in the

Fourth Street Live! Fourth Street Live! is a entertainment and retail complex located on 4th Street, between Liberty and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It is owned and was developed by the Cordish Company; it was designed by Louisville ...

entertainment complex in

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. In addition to serving Maker's Mark it features bourbons from each of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

's distilleries. The menu was designed by Chef Al Paris of the former

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

club Zanzibar Blue restaurant in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. A second such establishment opened in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

's downtown

Power & Light District The Kansas City Power & Light District (sometimes referred to as KC P&L) is a dining, shopping, office, and entertainment district in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, United States, developed by The Cordish Companies of Baltimore, Maryland, and ...

in 2008, and a third at the Indiana Live Casino in

Shelbyville, Indiana Shelbyville is a city in Addison Township, Shelby County, in the U.S. state of Indiana and is the county seat. The population was 20,067 as of the 2020 census. History In 1818, the land that would become Shelbyville was ceded to the Un ...

just outside

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

in March, 2009.

Reviews

Maker's Mark bourbon has earned solid marks at international

Spirits ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels a ...

competitions. Its primary bourbon earned a gold medal at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirit Ratings Competition and a score of 90–95 from Wine Enthusiast in 2007. The Maker's Mark 46—which has longer aging and exposure to toasted French oak staves—has earned similar ratings. Jane MacQuitty, spirits writer for ''

The London Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...

'', said of Maker's Mark that "What separates this bourbon from the rest is the softness and smoothness of its rich oak, vanilla and raisiny-like flavours." Food critic Morgan Murphy said "Dark as its red wax seal, this beautiful whiskey packs apple spice, vanilla, and a front-of-the-mouth crispness that is admired the world over."

Limited edition collector's sets

Keeneland

Maker's Mark began special edition bottles featuring Keeneland bottles for horses in 1997. The label was white with a dark green horse and green wax. Other Keeneland bottles include famous Derby winners such as

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

(2003),

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

(2004),

Affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known ...

(2005),

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ...

(2016), and Justify (2018).

University of Louisville

On July 20, 2012, Maker's Mark started selling a limited edition bottle featuring

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

's head football coach

Charlie Strong Charles Rene Strong (born August 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is the current defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He recently served as the Head coach, assistant head coach and Li ...

. The bottles were created to raise money for a new Academic Center of Excellence on UofL's campus. Maker's Mark also has marketed special label bottles with the images of Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich for the same purpose.

University of Kentucky

Maker's Mark has featured several University of Kentucky sports personalities on its

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

(UK) line of limited release bottles. A limited quantity of bottles can be signed for free by the personality that was selected for the bottle and by a member of the Samuels family. The signing party is held at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

horse track in the university's home city of Lexington. The first UK special edition bottle was produced in 1993. In celebration of the 1996 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions, Maker's Mark printed a bottle that had a denim background with white type. The team's coach at the time,

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

, signed the bottle. Other bottles include: Wildcat Bottle (2001), Bill Keightley (2002), Rupp's Runts (2006), The Unforgettables (2007), Joe B. Hall (first in 2008 and again in 2016),

Rich Brooks Richard Llewellyn Brooks (born August 20, 1941) is an American retired football coach and former player. He was the head coach at the University of OregonMcCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, Oregon: McCann ...

(2009),

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

(2010),

Tim Couch Timothy Scott Couch (born July 31, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the ...

(2012),

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning All-American twice en route to a school-record 25.7 points per game for his ...

(2013),

Mark Stoops Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Kentucky, a position he has held since 2013. Stoops is the all-time winningest head coach in the ...

(2014), and

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

(2015). The 2015 bottle was the first in a series honoring the five basketball coaches who won NCAA titles at UK; Pitino was honored in 2017 and

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach who last coached the men's basketball team at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, t ...

in 2018, with Calipari to be honored for a second time in 2019.

References

Bibliography

External links

* *

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). It administers three programs established to document historic places in the United States: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American E ...

documentation: ** ** ** ** {{KYBourbonTrail Suntory brands Beam Suntory Bourbon whiskey Distilleries on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Kentucky cuisine Historic American Engineering Record in Kentucky National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Kentucky 1958 establishments in Kentucky Industrial buildings completed in 1889