Though the Maker's Mark brand was established in 1805 by Scottish immigrants, the true story behind the brand began in the 1940's. William Issac and Leslie Samuels tried to bring their distillery back from the brink after prohibition. Soon after, William "Bill" Samuels took over the business and sold it in 1943. In 1953 he was drawn back into the business and a distillery outside of Loretto Kentucky to refurbish. As Kevin Minnick mentions in the current Whiskey Advocate, the first release of the current iteration of Maker's Mark was in 1958.
When Bill Samuels first began Maker's Mark he did away with the traditional family recipe and replaced the spicy rye with sweeter winter wheat. He set his brand up to be a higher end, more luxury related whiskey. One of the earliest Maker's Mark advertising campaigns used the slogan "It tastes expensive, and it is." With production on the lower end for larger, commercial distilleries, Maker's mark had positioned themselves correctly for tapping into the expanding wealth of American consumers in the latter half of the 20th century. Another great advertising move was to be one of the first bourbons offered on airline flights. Consumers would try Maker's Mark while flying and then seek it out when they arrived at their destinations.
Everything I have read suggests that Maker's Mark has stayed true to their roots as a luxury or family run operation despite moving from owner to owner over the years. Maker's Mark sold to Hiram Walker in 1981 and was moved through many owners until settling under Beam Global Spirits (now Beam-Suntory).
I like the Maker's Mark products. They have a wheated bourbon base (which I love) and only have three products in mass production. Maker's Mark, Maker's 46 (aged an additional time with charred oak staves) and Maker's Mark Cask Strength. I enjoy the first two, and really, really wanted to like the last one. I've given it a couple of tries now, and while the air time may help, I just can't get behind it (despite my love for all things cask strength and barrel proof).
The nose is piney and slightly medicinal, with toffee and hazelnuts.
The palate has some caramel syrup, woodiness, it's a tad sweeter and more rounded this time around. There is some astringency and pine sap to the palate. A little water brings out more sweetness and rounds out the palate.
The finish is medium length, fairly bitter and has a light simple syrup character.
I'm not ready to give up on this one yet. It should be something I enjoy. Maker's doesn't make more than a few products, which I enjoy in this day of constant line extensions, and I enjoy two out of three. I'll keep giving it a try to see if it grows on me somehow.
