Maker's Mark

If you go to academic conferences with Celticists, sooner or later, (well, no, it's actually always sooner) the Scots attendees, and some few of the Irish, are bringing out their special bottles of single malt.

I've been attending Celtic studies conferences for more than twenty years now, and have tried single malts many times. I'm afraid I lack the palate to appreciate them. A couple of years ago when a friend coaxed me into trying Maker's Mark bourbon I was very surprised to discover that I like it very much indeed, albeit I am somewhat heretical in that I prefer it on the rocks. (I dare not even contemplate doing the equivalent with single malt. I am given to understand that so doing would damage my immortal soul, and my academic reputation at once).

I've subsequently tried a couple of other bourbons, but none of them appeal to me as much as Maker's. There are a couple of things about the way Maker's is made that I think make a difference. First of all, it's not made with rye. It's made with yellow corn, and red winter wheat, and naturally malted barley. And I suspect that the water they use, from a limestone surrounded spring-fed lake does in fact make a difference, that it's more than branding hyperbole. I think the fact that they use their own self-propagating yeast in their sour-mash is key, too, since the yeast is now very much localized, and by starting each batch with yeast from the previous batch, they have a certain consistency.

The other aspects of the manufacturing process that are important is that Maker's is somewhat old-fashioned; it's made in small batches, and the grains are cooked in an older, traditional rollermill. Finally, Maker's Mark is not blended; each bottle contains bourbon from a single barrel. In fact the label on every bottle describes Maker's as "Handmade," with some reason, since each batch is less than nineteen barrels of bourbon in total.

I admit that the traditional aspects of Maker's as a distillery appeals to me as well, though I'd been drinking the bourbon for a good six months before I realized that Maker's Mark's distillery is smack dab in the heart of Kentucky bourbon country, that it's a family company with a long history of bourbon-making. The current generation is the third. In 1943 the family sold their distillery; Bill Samuels Sr., the second generation, returned from the war to the family farm. In 1953 he bought a small distillery. In 1954, after much baking bread and tasting it, Samuels Sr. rejected rye and settled on the grain mix for his new bourbon. In 1959 the distinctive square Makers' bottle, with the dripping red wax, appears on the market. And in 2006, though the company is owned by outside interests, the third generation (and the seventh generation of bourbon makers), in the form of Rob Samuels, joins the company. There's something about a company where the CEO feels passionate about the product, something that more often than not results in a high quality product, a bourbon to be proud of.