Maker’s Mark is getting set to boost production 50%, Chief Operating Officer Rob Samuels said.
In a letter to the brand’s ambassadors, Samuels said a new still will be installed at the historic distillery in Loretto, Ky., next to the two existing stills. It will “be identical in every way to them,” he added.
The announcement follows a brouhaha last year when Maker’s Mark said it would cut the alcohol content a bit in order to stretch production to meet growing demand.
Like all bourbons, Maker’s Mark takes several years to come to fruition. Samuels calls the distilling process “purposefully inefficient,” and assured the brand ambassadors it will ” continue to use only water from our limestone spring-fed lake right here on our property.
We’ve tracked down another antique rollermill that gently breaks up our grain for cooking without scorching it. We’ll still be rotating every barrel by hand throughout the warehouse for optimal aging. We’ll continue hand-tearing every label. And, of course, every bottle will continue to be hand-dipped in our signature red wax just before it leaves the distillery,” he said, concluding:
“In short, we’ll still do all the things my grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr., did by hand all those years ago to create the uniquely full-bodied yet easy-to-drink whisky he was searching for.”
For the story behind the development of the Maker’s Mark brand, see my e-book, The Maker’s Mark Story: From Dream to Major Brand in Two Generations.