Makers Mark - Loretto Kentucky

I have been enjoying Makers Mark Bourbon whiskey for a few years now. Back in 2010, I signed up as an Ambassador for Makers Mark to help spread the cheer. As part of being an Ambassador, Makers Mark placed my name (along with 30 others) on a plaque that is attached to a barrel of the good stuff. My barrels birthday is Nov 1, 2010. It is now as of this date 4 years and 8 months  aged. The expected maturity is somewhere between Nov 2016 and May 2018. Once it is uncorked, I will get a chance to get a bottle from this barrel.

So, anyway, I have been wanting to get to the distillery for some time now. In July 2015, we finally got the chance. This place in Loretto, Ky is not easy to find, but we drove thru some beautiful rolling hills full of fields of corn.

Entrance to Makers Mark

 Normally these distilleries charge a nominal fee for the tours and tastings, but luck was with us today. Computer was down, so the tour was free. Can't beat that. However, they still made a killing off me in the gift shop.

Courtney was our tour guide, and she did a good job explaining the process during the tour. This was the only tour we have had so far where we were able to see the complete process. From cooking the mashbill to aging the final product to labeling and bottling.

One part of the distillery had large vats where the mashbill was being cooked. We were invited to dip out fingers in each of three vats to taste the difference. Certainly did not taste like anything I would want to drink later.

From there we went into one of the Rickhouses where the barrels are stored for aging. My barrel is in there somewhere with my name on the plaque attached to it.

The labeling room is where the labels are printed, cut and laminated. This is all down by ladies feeding the old machines by hand.

Then it was off to the bottling plant where we saw the 1 liter bottles get unpacked, rinsed with a small amount of bourbon (not water), then filled, capped, and labelled. Four ladies were then hand-dipping each bottle into the hot red wax.

At the end of the tour, we were led into the tasting room where we were treated to four different tastings. One was what they called Makers White. This is normally called 'white dog', which is the final product before being put into the barrels for aging. It was good enough that I had to buy a bottle. This is not sold in any retail stores.

Makers White - Dipping by Doc

In the gift shop I bought a bottle of the Makers White, a bottle of Makers Mark Cask Strength (113 proof), and a commemorative bottle signed by Bill and Rob Samuels.  The Makers White I got to dip the bottle myself into the red wax. The lady helping me told me to dip it all the way down, instead of just the neck of the bottle.

Autographed Commemorative Bottle

Dipped Sipping Glass

All in all, it was worth the trip.