Episode 104: Maker's Mark

Episode 104 • 16th July 2022 • Liquor and Liqueur Connoisseur • Matt Birchard

00:00:00 00:30:43

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Episode 104 features Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky. Bottled in 750ml at 45% ABV, or 90 proof. It retails for about $28.

Enjoy this episode with a Maker's Mark Old Fashioned!

The official website for Maker's Mark: https://www.makersmark.com/

Brief Historical Timeline:

1840 - T.W. Samuels erects the family's first commercial distillery in Kentucky
1943 - Bill Samuels gets out of his family business, for awhile
1953 - Bill Samuels founds Maker's Mark
1958 - The first bottles of Maker's Mark are hand dipped in red sealing wax
1973 - Maker's Mark hires Kentucky ad agency Doe Anderson
1975 - Bill Samuels, Jr. becomes President and CEO of Maker's Mark
1980 - Maker's Mark is featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal
1981 - Hiram Walker buys Maker's Mark
2004 - A second still is added to increase production
2005 - Pernod Ricard (who ended up with Maker's Mark through acquisitions) sells the brand to Fortune Brands, which would become part of Beam Suntory
2011 - Maker's Mark sells 1 million 9-liter case equivalents for the first time
2011 - Rob Samuels, grandson of the founder, takes over when his father Bill Samuels, Jr. retires
2013 - Proof is reduced 3%, but only for a moment
2015 - A $67 million investment includes a third still and new warehouses
2019 - Maker's Mark sells 2.4 mill cases

Key Cocktails:

Use as you would any quality bourbon. I'm drinking it neat, but try it in an Old Fashioned or Manhattan.

References:

Book: Maker's Mark - My Autobiography by Bill Samuels, Jr. published in 2000