Kentucky Bourbon Tales: Distilling the Family Business

Kentucky Education Television (KET) in partnership with the The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries and  Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) have released a one hour documentary titled Kentucky Bourbon Tales: Distilling the Family Business.  The documentary is streamed here and is quite informative.  It captures an oral history of several of the leading families in the Kentucky bourbon industry as well as documenting the entire whiskey process. These families include the Beams at  The Jim Beam® Distillery and Heaven Hill Distilleries; the Russells at Wild Turkey; the Samuels at Maker's Mark Distillery; the players behind the Brown-Forman Early Times Distillery; Master Distiller Jim Rutledge at Four Roses Distillery; and Master Distiller William Pratt at Michter’s Distillery, LLC.

You will also need to read this critique by Chuck Cowdery on a few major missing players: Sazerac's Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle, & Elmer T. Lee. Regardless, the documentary is highly recommended for those interested in all things bourbon.

Update: The Buffalo Trace Oral History Project includes several videos of the families not included in the KET video also hosted through the The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Maker's Listens to Prevailing Winds, Reverses Course

We posted last week on Maker's Mark decision to meet increased demand by changing their recipe by diluting their whiskey. Apparently feedback was not very positive and the distillery has changed course. Good for them. I personally think there were better solutions - perhaps raising the price while simultaneously introducing a smaller bottle?  In any case, as one LinkedIn commenter noted, "but I greatly appreciate the company's openness and honesty with their customers. How many beverage makers do you know have changed the formula of their product and didn't bother telling the public?" I agree with that sentiment. Here's a letter from Chief Operating Officer, Rob Samuels:

Dear Ambassador,

Since we announced our decision last week to reduce the alcohol content (ABV) of Maker’s Mark in response to supply constraints, we have heard many concerns and questions from our ambassadors and brand fans. We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark. While we thought we were doing what’s right, this is your brand – and you told us in large numbers to change our decision.

You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down.

So effective immediately, we are reversing our decision to lower the ABV of Maker’s Mark, and resuming production at 45% alcohol by volume (90 proof). Just like we’ve made it since the very beginning.

The unanticipated dramatic growth rate of Maker’s Mark is a good problem to have, and we appreciate some of you telling us you’d even put up with occasional shortages. We promise we'll deal with them as best we can, as we work to expand capacity at the distillery.

Your trust, loyalty and passion are what’s most important. We realize we can’t lose sight of that. Thanks for your honesty and for reminding us what makes Maker’s Mark, and its fans, so special.

We’ll set about getting back to bottling the handcrafted bourbon that our father/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr. created. Same recipe. Same production process. Same product.

As always, we will continue to let you know first about developments at the distillery. In the meantime please keep telling us what’s on your mind and come down and visit us at the distillery. It means a lot to us.

Sincerely,

Rob Samuels
Chief Operating Officer
Ambassador-in-Chief

What do you think? Will diluting the whiskey change your preference? Would it make more sense to use market forces and raise the price slightly in order to decrease demand. And not diluting.

Maker's Mark Scrambles to Satisfy Demand by Diluting?

Maker's Mark has always been successful not only because of their unique red wax seal but also from their unique recipe which combines  red winter wheat with the traditional barley and corn. This demand has increased to the point where the distillery had to modify the final alcohol by volume in order to increase production to satisfy there thirsty customers. Apparently,  the Maker's unique flavor was not sacrificed. Really? Here's a letter from Chief Operating Officer, Rob Samuels:

Dear Maker’s Mark® Ambassador,

Lately we’ve been hearing from many of you that you’ve been having difficulty finding Maker’s Mark in your local stores.  Fact is, demand for our bourbon is exceeding our ability to make it, which means we’re running very low on supply. We never imagined that the entire bourbon category would explode as it has over the past few years, nor that demand for Maker’s Mark would grow even faster.

We wanted you to be the first to know that, after looking at all possible solutions, we’ve worked carefully to reduce the alcohol by volume (ABV) by just 3%. This will enable us to maintain the same taste profile and increase our limited supply so there is enough Maker’s Mark to go around, while we continue to expand the distillery and increase our production capacity.

We have both tasted it extensively, and it’s completely consistent with the taste profile our founder/dad/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr., created nearly 60 years ago.  We’ve also done extensive testing with Maker’s Mark drinkers, and they couldn’t tell a difference.

Nothing about how we handcraft Maker’s Mark has changed, from the use of locally sourced soft red winter wheat as the flavor grain, to aging the whisky to taste in air-dried American white oak barrels, to rotating our barrels during maturation, to hand-dipping every bottle in our signature red wax.

In other words, we’ve made sure we didn’t screw up your whisky.

Sincerely,

Rob Samuels
Chief Operating Officer
Ambassador-in-Chief

What do you think? Will diluting the whiskey change your preference? Would it make more sense to use market forces and raise the price slightly in order to decrease demand. And not diluting.

Update: And Maker's reverses their decision. See letter.

The Birth of a Maker's Mark Barrel

We recently received a letter notifying us that our our newborn Marker's Mark barrel has finally arrived. That is, the distillery has filled a charred American white oak barrel with their signature whiskey plated with the WineCompass name and is gently resting in a warehouse. This is a benefit for joining the Marker's Mark Ambassador program. By joining this program participants receive their name on a Maker’s Mark barrel; an opportunity to purchase a bottle of Maker’s Mark from your batch; updates on the aging of your bourbon; advanced notice of rare, special-release bottles; and invitations to special Ambassadors-only Maker’s Mark tasting events. Sadly, we couldn't attend the last one scheduled in Washington D.C. In return, participants do all they can to promote the Maker's Mark brand. Hence, this post.

So what makes Maker's Mark any different then the dozens of premium bourbons on the market. It starts with the ingredients. In order to be labeled bourbon, the whiskey must derive from at least 51% corn; the rest is usually barley and rye. Maker's Mark uses yellow corn from specially selected small farm cooperatives to ensure only the highest quality corn. Instead of rye, the distillery uses red winter wheat which produces a gentler taste. This mash is then fermented by a special yeast strain that has been in the Samuels family for six generations.

After fermentation, the whiskey is placed in a new charred American white oak barrel and sent to a warehouse where it sits still for a number of years. At bottling a distillery then collects samples from various portions of the warehouse to add to each bottle. This is because the bourbon ages differently depending on its location. Instead of following this process, Maker's Mark rotates the barrels. Possibly the only distillery to do so. According to the distillery, "all our barrels start at the top of the warehouse where they are exposed to the greatest temperature extremes. Hot Kentucky summers cause the whisky to expand into the wood. Cold winters cause the whisky to contract back out of the wood. This is what allows the whisky to absorb the wonderful flavors from the wood. When ready, (around three years) each barrel is moved to a lower part of the warehouse to continue its maturation process in a less extreme fashion." That's why we like this bourbon. Add in the trademark red wax and you have your bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon.

When will be able to see our "baby" barrel? Well, online or a taking a trip to their Loretto, Kentucky facility. When will we be able to taste the aging bourbon? In 6 or 7 years. I hope we don't forget about the barrel during this process.

Maker's Mark Ambassador

I have been drinking Maker's Mark for a number of years now, and a few months back I signed up for their Ambassador program. As an Ambassador, you receive a number of benefits in return for promoting the bourbon to others. The coolest benefit is having your name posted on a barrel and then having the ability to taste and purchase the bourbon when it reaches maturity. The Maker's Mark Ambassador Web site also includes links to stories about the distillery; the Samuels family; special events; and, of course, the status of your barrel.

Now, Maker's Mark is quite unique from other bourbons and not just from their trademarked red wax seal. The bourbon consists of iron-free limestone water from a neighboring spring fed lake. The distillery does not use rye, which they feel leaves too much bitterness on the tongue and instead uses locally grown red winter wheat in conjunction with the corn. They feel this combination provides a smoother flavor, plus the grains are softly crushed with an antique roller mill which doesn't scorch the grain. The final ingredient, the yeast, is a special strain developed by the Samuel family and produced directly at the distiller. The mash is distilled twice, first in an all-copper column still at 120 proof, and then a second time in a copper pot still at 130 proof. This low distillation proof preserves the natural flavor of the corn and wheat. Then, after the spirit is stored in white oak barrels, these barrels are rotated within the warehouse in order to help create a consistent flavor.

So that's the story why Maker's Mark differs from other bourbons. We will continue to post on the status of our barrel as we sip it from our red wax dipped glass.