We went to Kentucky to create two whiskeys through the Maker's Mark Private Selection program. After weeks of emails, conversations, and reading through materials, we thought we knew what we were getting into. Turns out, we didn't. We left with a completely different appreciation for a brand we'd been looking at for decades.
THE BOTTLE YOU ALREADY KNOW
Maker's Mark might have been the first brand I ever recognized as whiskey. I couldn't tell you when I first tasted it, but I certainly remember the bottle. The red wax, the shape, the label. It's been sitting on liquor store shelves and in the homes of friends and family for as long as I can remember.
And maybe that's why I never gave it much thought. Maker's Mark was everywhere. In my mind, it was a big, famous, corporate whiskey brand. And to be fair, it is. It's owned by Suntory Global Spirits and sold around the world. Nobody's going to confuse it with a little craft distillery.
Somewhere along the way, though, I'd assumed that being such a big brand meant it had lost some of the things that made it special in the first place.
THE FARM
The first thing you notice about Maker's Mark is that it doesn't really look like a distillery. It looks like a farm.
They call it Star Hill Farm, and it's a beautiful piece of property. Rolling hills, black buildings with red shutters, trees, water, and sheep wandering around like they own the place. Not exactly what I expected from one of the biggest names in bourbon.
But as impressive as the property was, what really caught my attention were the people.
People stopped to talk to us, asked questions, and seemed interested in what we were doing. It didn't feel like we were just another group being shuffled through a distillery tour. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there, which honestly surprised me a little.
We got to see the whiskey-making process, from the grain and mash to the stills and warehouses. We even tasted white dog, the clear spirit before it ever sees the inside of a barrel. Hot, raw, a little sweet, and nothing like the finished bourbon most people know.
And then we walked into the fermentation room.
THE OLD WAY IS STILL THE WAY
One of the things that really surprised me was seeing the enormous open cypress vats Maker's Mark still uses to ferment its whiskey.
You can walk right up to them and look down at the mash bubbling away. You can smell it, see it moving, and get a sense of what's actually happening. It's pretty amazing to watch.
Now, don't get me wrong. Maker's Mark has plenty of modern equipment. This is a major distillery producing whiskey on a massive scale. But that's what makes those wooden vats so interesting.
They could probably modernize just about every part of the process if they wanted to. Instead, they're still using these giant cypress vats, sticking with a method that's been part of how they make their whiskey for decades.
Standing there watching it all happen, I remember thinking something that we ended up repeating throughout the rest of the day:
This is where you want your whiskey to come from.
RED WAX AND A SLAM DUNK
Next up was the bottling line, and of course, the famous red wax.
We've all seen those bottles a thousand times, but I'd never really thought about the fact that every single one is dipped by hand. Watching the people on the line doing it, bottle after bottle, was pretty impressive.
We were filming when one of the women dipping bottles noticed our cameras, gave us a smile, and decided to show off a little.
She slam-dunked a bottle.
If you've never seen this, instead of the usual quick dip, she plunged the bottle deep into the red wax and pulled it back out with this enormous coating of wax dripping down the sides. It was hilarious. One of the Maker's Mark people showing us around said they'd never actually seen someone do it in person.
Everyone got a kick out of it.
I've spent a lot of time around brands and production facilities over the years, and little moments like that stick with you.
Later, we got to try dipping our own bottles at the gift shop. Unfortunately, Maker's Mark has figured out how to prevent visitors from doing their own slam dunks. There's a limit to how deep you can dip the bottle, which is probably a very good idea.
We still gave it our best shot.
Let's just say our bottles weren't quite up to the standards of the professionals we'd watched earlier. But I wouldn't trade them for anything.
WHAT FAMILIARITY HIDES
Over lunch at Star Hill Provisions, the restaurant on the property, I started thinking about how differently I looked at Maker's Mark after spending the morning there.
It's funny how a brand can become so familiar that you almost stop noticing it. I'd been looking at that same red wax bottle for decades, and honestly, I hadn't given much thought to what went into making it.
We visited several distilleries on that Kentucky trip. Some were incredibly modern, some were more traditional, and several make whiskeys I absolutely love. But there was something about Maker's Mark that stuck with me.
Maybe it was the setting. Maybe it was the wooden vats. Maybe it was the woman on the bottling line who decided to have a little fun when she spotted our camera.
Probably all of it.
Whatever it was, I walked away realizing I'd been taking this brand for granted.
WHY WE WERE REALLY THERE
Of course, we didn't leave at seven in the morning and drive to Maker's Mark just to tour the distillery. We were there representing Men's Journal Spirits Shop, working with Whiskey Bonded to create two bourbons through the Maker's Mark Private Selection program. Both would eventually be offered through our respective shops.
And this was the part of the visit we'd spent weeks preparing for.
Private Selection is quite different from a traditional barrel pick. Instead of tasting a handful of barrels and choosing your favorite, you get to help create the final whiskey.
You start with Maker's Mark Cask Strength bourbon and build a finishing recipe using ten oak staves chosen from five different types. Each stave brings something different to the table, from vanilla and caramel to baking spices, chocolate, coffee, and fruit. With 1,001 possible combinations, there are plenty of ways to take the whiskey in different directions.
Our goal was to create two expressions. One started with a recipe from our friend Conrad Dodd at Whiskey Bonded, and the other came from our Men's Journal team.
What happened in the blending room was a lot more involved than we expected. We tasted, compared notes, debated different combinations, changed our minds, and then changed them again. Just when we thought we had something figured out, another sample would make us rethink it.
By the end of the afternoon, we'd landed on two very different Maker's Mark Private Selection bourbons.
Kentucky Snickerdoodle.
Conrad's recipe brings together toasted caramel, vanilla, baking spices, milk chocolate, and almond. Bottled at 110.5 proof.
Kentucky Black Forest Cake.
Our Men's Journal recipe went in a different direction, with dark chocolate, coffee, cherry, and warming spice. Bottled at 109.5 proof.
I'll admit, the names aren't exactly what you'd expect to see on a bourbon bottle. But after spending an afternoon tasting and putting these recipes together, they made perfect sense to us.
How we ended up with these two whiskeys is a story in itself. And that's what I'll get into in Part 2.
TWO BARRELS. TWO RECIPES. ONE VERY LIMITED RELEASE.
We're splitting both barrels with Whiskey Bonded, leaving Men's Journal with approximately 100 bottles of each expression. These are two recipes we created specifically for this release, and once the bottles are gone, that's it.
The bottles aren't available just yet, but we're getting close. If you'd like a chance to get your hands on one, make sure you're on the notification list.
Coming in Part 2: Inside the blending room, how we chose our staves, the decisions we made along the way, and how two very different bourbons came together.
Editor's disclosure: The author is affiliated with Men's Journal Spirits Shop, which collaborated with Whiskey Bonded on the Maker's Mark Private Selection bourbons described in this article and plans to offer them for sale. The author's views and experiences are his own.
Please enjoy bourbon responsibly.
