Welcome to the Maker's Mark Distillery! Though this bourbon began as a family trying to create a bourbon to share with friends and family, it has since turned into one of the most well-known bourbons today.

Bill Samuels, Sr. began his quest to create Maker's Mark with his only copy of the 170 year-old family recipe, which he set on fire. Afterwards, Bill experimented with various flavoring grains, trying to create a mash which was completely unique. To save time, he baked loaves of bread with various kinds of grain rather than distilling them. This also led him to swap the rye that was traditionally used for red winter wheat, replacing the hot bite of former bourbons with a sweetness which lives on in Maker's Mark today.

Aside from simply the tase, Maker's Mark stands out for the unique bottle. Co-founded Margie Samuels wanted the bottle to stand out on store shelves, and was the reason for the shape of the bottle, look of the label, red wax topper, and even the name Maker's Mark, which comes from how pewter whitesmith would put a "maker's mark" on works they were especially proud of. Margie did such a good job marketing the bourbon that it is often said that Margie is the reason people buy their first bottle, and Bill is the reason they buy their second.

Today, each bottle of Maker's Mark is still made in much the same way, preserving the taste while making it available to more people (all information courtesy of makersmark.com, image courtesy of Shadle / CC BY-SA).