Small local cooperative farms are specially selected to supply the corn and wheat as they have the same limestone soil as the spring water used to produce Maker’s Mark. The winter wheat, which incidentally smells like a pampered baby when freshly ground, gives sweetness and flavour while the barley adds bolder characteristics and aids the fermentation process. Corn has high starch content but doesn’t add much flavour. Maker’s Mark’s unique mash bill of 70% corn, 16% soft red winter wheat and 14% malted barley, the result of John Samuels baking experiment, is crucial to Maker’s Mark bourbon’s character. This unique sweet tasting hard water is perfect for distilling as the lack of iron and presence of calcium benefits the yeast during fermentation. The limestone aquifer that underlies Kentucky's Bluegrass region acts as a natural water filter removing iron salts and adding minerals, particularly magnesium and calcium. Marker’s Mark spelling without the ‘e’ celebrates the Samuels family’s Scottish heritage. Apparently the official American spelling is ‘whisky’ but the historic American spelling of ‘whiskey’ is tolerated and practically all other American distillers spell theirs with the "e". Maker's Mark is one of the few American whiskeys to be spelled, ‘whisky’ without an ‘e’. It might not flaunt it, but Maker’s Mark is aged for around a year longer than the four year minimum and it is no overstatement to say that Bill Samuels Senior established the premium bourbon category. In fact the bottle had no age statement on it at all. Initially, as an extended age statement did not justify its price position, it was a difficult sale. (See History)Īt the time of its launch, Maker’s Mark was sold at a premium price to other bourbons then on the market. However, the family’s distilling roots stretch back eleven generations. The original 'premium' bourbon, Maker’s Mark has been lovingly built by three generations of the Samuels family. Maker’s Mark is the only bourbon distillery producing just one Brand of Bourbon.
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