The Scotchy Bourbon Boys
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys love Whiskey and every thing about the industry! Martin "Super Nash", Jeff "Tiny", Rachel "Roxy" Karl "Whisky" and Chris "CT" all make up The Scotchy Bourbon Boys! Join us in talking everything and anything Whiskey, with the innovators, and distillers around the globe. Go behind the scenes of making great whiskey and learn how some of the best in the whiskey industry make their product! Remember good whiskey means great friends and good times! Go out and Live Your Life Dangerously!
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys
The Soul of Star Hill Farm: Amanda Humphrey on Bourbon's Living Legacy & Makers Mark
Amanda Humphrey takes us behind the scenes at Star Hill Farm, home of Maker's Mark, where tradition meets innovation across 1,100 acres of working farmland. We explore how this iconic bourbon brand is pioneering sustainable practices while maintaining their founder's vision through innovative wood-finishing techniques and an uncompromising commitment to flavor.
• Amanda's journey from London bartender to Maker's Mark advocacy and experience leader
• The importance of terroir in bourbon and how 86% of ingredients come from the local area
• Using 55 beehives, Wagyu cattle, and a truffle-hunting dog to create a self-sustaining farm
• How the Heritage Collection and wood-finishing series evolved from Maker's classic profile
• The significance of the Maker's Mark stamp and its connection to pewter craftsmanship
• Creating the world's first genetically sequenced oak tree to preserve American white oak
• Seven unique Star Hill Farm experiences beyond the traditional distillery tour
• Women's growing leadership presence throughout the bourbon industry
Visit makermark.com to explore the immersive experiences at Star Hill Farm and discover their latest wood-finishing releases.
Step onto the hallowed grounds of Star Hill Farm with us as Amanda Humphrey reveals the magic behind Maker's Mark's 1,100-acre whiskey wonderland. From the moment we sit at the founders' original kitchen table—where the iconic bourbon was first conceived through bread recipes—we're immersed in a world where tradition and innovation dance together in perfect harmony.
Amanda's journey from London bartender to Maker's Mark advocate embodies the global appeal of this distinctly Kentucky brand. Her passion for the distillery's sustainable practices illuminates how Maker's Mark has evolved from a single expression to a portfolio that honors its wheated bourbon DNA while exploring new dimensions of flavor through wood science.
What sets Star Hill Farm apart isn't just what goes into the bottle—it's the holistic ecosystem they've created. With 55 bee boxes producing honey for cocktails, Katahdin sheep maintaining the soil, a Wagyu cattle program finished on spent grain, and even a truffle-hunting Lagotto dog named Star, this is bourbon production reimagined as regenerative agriculture. "Bourbon is an agricultural product, it's nature distilled," Amanda explains, revealing how 86% of ingredients consumed on-site come from the immediate area.
Perhaps most remarkable is Maker's Mark's 200-year vision for environmental stewardship. They've established the world's largest white oak research forest and created the first genetically sequenced American white oak tree in history—a living library of 540 million pairs of DNA that will inform conservation efforts for generations to come.
We taste through their latest innovations, including the just-about-to-be-released Keeper's Release from their wood-finishing series, which showcases the expertise of their warehouse team with notes of honey, butterscotch, and cinnamon French toast. Yet even as they innovate, that distinctive Maker's Mark profile remains the north star.
Whether you're a bourbon aficionado or simply curious about sustainable spirits production, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into how one of America's most beloved bourbon brands is creating flavors rooted in place while saf
voice over Whiskey Thief
If You Have Gohsts
Add for SOFL
https://www.scotchybourbonboys.com
The Scotchy bourbon Boys are #3 in Feedspots Top 60 whiskey podcasts in the world https://podcast.feedspot.com/whiskey_podcasts/
Make it and he's like, oh okay.
Speaker 3:The Midwest spirit was founded in 2008, focusing on elevating the distinct flavors of the Ohio River Valley.
Speaker 4:Their spirits, honor their roots and reflect their originality as makers, their integrity as a producer and their passion for craftiness and their strength and their discernment reflects their story.
Speaker 2:From the start with unique and dry purpose. And also Ryan, the Michelon brand, is easy to sip.
Speaker 5:It might be a grain to glass experience but I like to think of it as uncut and unfiltered from their family to yours, the place that I go, Not that I couldn't make it at home, but you know We'll be right back.
Speaker 2:All right, welcome back to another podcast of the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. This is a special podcast. I'm excited about this. We are here with Amanda Humphries. Nice to have you here.
Speaker 4:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:And you describe what you do.
Speaker 4:Oh, that's always tricky, I suppose in a nutshell. So I look after the advocacy and experiences for Star Hill Farm, home of Maker's Mark, hill Farm home of Maker's Mark. So I'm looking at how we take Star Hill Farm out into market globally and then guest experiences down here at the distillery in a nutshell, that's awesome and it's great to be here.
Speaker 2:This is a dream podcast for us. I mean honestly, from the start, when you just start getting into bourbon and you come to Makers Mark, I swear to God, that's what makes people fall in love with bourbon. I mean one. It's a weeded bourbon, which is fantastic, and there's so much caramel involved, so but but the whole experience that you guys have here of all the different tours and all the different things and the dipping and all that kind of thing, of all the different tours and all the different things and the dipping and all that kind of thing. And then you know to do a podcast right from here, right from this room.
Speaker 4:You're in the heritage room at the moment, so actually this table that we're sat on was our founder's table in their kitchen at home, where they concepted the idea at the beginning of. Maker's Mark so this is the table. They were making loads of bread at different percentages of cereals and grains. They chose that bread recipe with the flavor of mouthfeel that they translated into their whiskey recipe, saving themselves a lot of money and a lot of time. So yeah, we are in the room of history and heritage at the moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's amazing, just all the stuff on the walls and everything behind us, a great backdrop that we have. And we also have Roxy today and we have CT and we got Walker not walking today, that's for sure.
Speaker 3:He's dumb, but he's come on, I'm a hobble today Hobble.
Speaker 2:So you know I always like to ask some questions like how did you come to the job? You know, how did?
Speaker 4:you fall in love with Maker's Mark. Great question, because everybody's got their Maker's Mark story on how they were introduced to the brand. Mine started off in London. You can probably tell that I'm not originally from around these parts, so I moved over here four years ago. But I was the Maker's Mark diplomat in London, launched a private select program over there their trade engagement programs and then helped them launch private select in Singapore and some other international markets. But before that I was a World Whiskey Portfolio Ambassador, so looking after Scots, american, japanese and Irish whiskeys.
Speaker 4:And Jane Bowie, who was our old head of innovation, she was in London doing a training session for my bar team at Paramount and I was like who is this fierce woman? Like the history and heritage of the brand just got me really excited and from that moment I just knew that I wanted to not only work in the spirits industry the other side of the bar but specifically on Maker's Mark. And now I'm here working at the distillery. So yeah, managing bars and restaurants in London private members clubs for a number of years before I moved moved to this side well, that is some skill, yes, so you know.
Speaker 2:And how often do you have to um draw upon what you learned about managing bars around that side? I mean, I I can only imagine it's just a such a useful skill that you picked up doing that.
Speaker 4:It's that hospitality touch that we've transferred down here to the distillery um drinksinks. So I mean I set up the drinks program and education program down here before I moved on to Star Hill Farm. So yeah, my background in spirits and like cocktails has really done me well down here.
Speaker 2:So you were responsible for that old-fashioned. They were serving up there with the aging, with the rate.
Speaker 4:So actually I can't take credit for that. That was our senior drinker.
Speaker 6:You had the chance.
Speaker 4:That was amazing.
Speaker 1:Hopefully you don't take responsibility for any made with radishes or celery.
Speaker 4:No, that's not on my area.
Speaker 2:That would be good with bourbon. You've got to add cheese to that.
Speaker 4:What I love about the bars at the distillery and the drinks program is we're as mad as a box of frogs down here, but it pushes flavor boundaries. 86% of what you eat and drink down here is going to be of the place. So we've got innovation production gardens on site that we're growing produce for the cocktails. We've got Wagyu cows on site, 450 Katahdin sheep for livestock grazing and soil health, but they taste delicious at the restaurant farm to table as well. Did you all see the bee boxes as you came?
Speaker 3:in.
Speaker 6:Yes, I was like look at those bees.
Speaker 4:We've got about 55 bee boxes in Canton, so near enough to turn into a small commercial honey producer at this point, and you're probably thinking why have you got so many bee boxes on site for a bourbon?
Speaker 3:brand. Why not the easiest way to describe it?
Speaker 4:is. Bourbon is an agricultural product, it's nature distilled. So if we're not good stewards of our land, maintaining these health and well-being, systems we're not going to be down there in 200 years' time. And then, rather than shipping sugars in from all other parts of the world, what can we grow on site? And, if we need to, we can mimic flavors of other sugars, so not having to unnecessarily ship in sugars from the Caribbean and maple from Canada we can actually use our honey for cocktails.
Speaker 4:We can put finishing staves into the honey and it mimics brown sugar, that texture, the grittiness it gives you. So yeah, 86% is a really random number. You're probably thinking why 86%? 86% of the grains going into your whiskey recipe are from this local radius. So where we're sitting now, red winter wheat for the whiskey recipe comes within a 30-mile radius. And then you've got the corn comes within a 60-mile radius of where we're standing and we want the same for what you're eating and drinking down here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, radius of where we're standing and we want the same for what you're eating and drinking down here. Yeah, when you drive around you can you see the grain silos and the fields and everything, and it's just it. You know it is kentucky and you're used, but still you can see them. You've got such a it's a massive operation, put it that way and you know, and it's to get, get here is quite the feat, you know, it's just you don't know what road's going to be closed on what day, but you guys are in the middle. You definitely are in the middle of, you know, the heartland of Kentucky.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's quite a drive to get here. As you say, we take the back road, which is a mountain, which is even gnarlier. But yeah it opens out into this beautiful 1,100 acre working farm distillery and, yes, you have to drive into the middle of nowhere, but it means that we can grow out the property, be as self-sufficient as possible and really control the pursuit and sources of flavor down here at the farm.
Speaker 6:Yeah, so the experience is not just suburban and makers mark grounds, it's the whole kentucky experience too the landscape, the flavors, the everything here, the air, the soil, the water, all contributes to the flavors of all of the products.
Speaker 4:Funny fact when bill and margie, our founders, purchased this property. They purchased for the bargain price of 35 000. That was back in 1953 and we sit in just over 1100 acres and counting now because we've been secretly not so secretly growing 300 acres of our own state grains to the back of the distillery for the last seven or eight years, selfishly we were going. Uh, exploration of flavor.
Speaker 4:So does terroir matter in whiskey, raw material, mother Nature being a flavor maker? So we started to dive into sources and flavor that we can get from our grains, stumbled upon regenerative agriculture as we went along this sort of flavor journey. But we're no till across the 1100 acres using cover crops for soil armor and soil nutrients and then putting our Katahdin sheep onto those grain00 acres, using cover crops for soil armor and soil nutrients, and then putting our qatardan sheep onto those grain fields after our cover crops to hold them. So how are we looking at farming practices down here, both with whiskey and then all the produce? How you treat your soils is going to directly correlate into flavor and nutrients coming out of your product well, and then also I mean the you know the science of what you're doing.
Speaker 2:You're sharing, I know, because that's what people, what all the distilleries you're sharing that knowledge throughout so that other people you're sharing what you learn, right.
Speaker 4:Exactly Rising tides.
Speaker 2:Let's take the whole industry. We're not perfect.
Speaker 4:We're just trying to be a little bit better on what we're doing day on day. But yeah, we've got an open door policy. Other industries, competitor brands want to come down here, or sort of work to become like bourbon that betters the world.
Speaker 2:Then yeah, we're all for that. Yeah, yeah, for sure With.
Speaker 6:oh, I had a question and it was gone.
Speaker 2:You'll come back, you'll come back, you'll come back. So what's an average day for you like? There's no average day.
Speaker 4:I'd say Things like podcasts, but no day to day, I'm taking our sort of PR press VIPs onto the farm to talk about sources of flavor and our higher purpose initiatives.
Speaker 3:I'm currently building out a boring corporate deck at the moment, actually just to sort of train the trainer and all of our internal tour teams, so it varies.
Speaker 4:I'm also managing and looking after our truffle dog, star, so he's owned by Maker's Mark works Monday through Friday till 5, but he I'm his nanny and his truffle trainer, so he comes home with me at night and at weekends. His KPIs are be a good boy, find truffles and he's nailing both of those things what kind of dog? He's a Lagoto, so one of the oldest dog breeds in the world. Portuguese water retrievers were bred from them.
Speaker 4:They started to phase out the truffle pigs in Italy, because the pig would eat half the truffles before the truffle hunter would get rid of them.
Speaker 6:They would eat them on their way to feed them.
Speaker 4:Yeah, exactly they started to phase in this water retriever, Legoto. So yeah, he's from Italian descent and he can find native wild truffles across the 1,100 acre campus Wow. Including the Appalachian truffle and then one, wow, salted butter in a pan. Grate in all those native truffles, fat wash, truffle butter, bourbon for Boulevardia's old fashions on site during the season.
Speaker 3:Are you kidding me.
Speaker 5:After all that, you think she was kidding you.
Speaker 1:I'm here to think I'm just working on bacon fat wash old fashions.
Speaker 6:Right, truffle butter. Now you just. It's a whole different level.
Speaker 1:My dog's only going to go get Birds, birds. I got to find I got to make him go after some truffles.
Speaker 4:We'll have to go hunting. Bring him down. Here. You can find chihuahuas that truffle hunt which like. So what breed of dog have you got?
Speaker 1:He is a. Oh jeez, why is my brain now Blue tycoon hound? Yeah, we can run in truffles in no time. He'll run a lot. I don't know that truffles will be the thing, but he'll be everywhere.
Speaker 4:Some of the other stuff we're working on.
Speaker 2:I think he's one of the biggest Blue Tycoon Hunts I've ever seen in my life. He's crazy.
Speaker 4:I can't wait to meet him, bring him down, let's watch the podcast he's on. Yeah, he'll come, come on.
Speaker 2:Leave me alone and he is a howler man, it's just.
Speaker 1:We started and he had saw something out the window and he just started to, just when the theme song was playing.
Speaker 4:Yeah something like he was singing all along.
Speaker 2:It was perfect. It was perfect timing.
Speaker 4:We're going to have to go back and watch that one.
Speaker 1:No, I lose my mind.
Speaker 2:So you're doing all the unique things for the farm, and then you have the restaurant and you didn't. And also you have all the different tastings and you're like you just described what you do with the truffles and everything. But when I first started this, like you know, maker's mark was just maker's mark and, and every in one of the things was people had been tasting stuff that had aged longer, but maker's mark was always putting out just Maker's Mark. But since 2017, 18, when that was the case, you guys have evolved into so much more. There's a lot, although the recipe's the same across, but you guys have done so much.
Speaker 4:Talk about that, yeah, so with classic Maker's Mark in our core range. It's really about us protecting that DNA of the founder's vision.
Speaker 4:So anything that's going to affect that DNA profile of makers at heart, then we're still going to stick to those real traditional methods that we've been using since the beginning. So remember that 70% corn, 16% red winter wheat and 14% barley is the only mash bill coming out of this distillery. 14% barley is the only mash bill coming out of this distillery. So all the nuances that you see in innovation coming out of makers the first thing is proof is an avenue for flavor, as you guys all know. So depending on the proof of what you're drinking, makers mark wise you're going to have nuances in flavor and mouthfeel coming through. But really we went from creating that one product to fast forward down the road, like you talked about. And really innovation coming out of makers mark moving forward is our cellar and our wood finishing series. So oak, how you cook it, how long you cook it for and the temperature you're cooking it at, you're going to start to release different flavor compounds at different points.
Speaker 4:So that's the sort of journey that we've been on, and innovation really started with 46 and we've seen that, like with uh.
Speaker 1:Seller we were talking about it before you know.
Speaker 4:Seller 23 to 24 you would think, okay, they're gonna, it's gonna be the same and it came out and everybody was wow, they're very different, you know they, they do not just hit the same exact notes yeah, slightly different age statements, yeah, slightly different proof, and it just gives you a whole new aspect on it well, there's yeah and everything that I was hearing before seller age.
Speaker 2:And that's one thing, though, I felt, when you guys released seller age, that was so special because you, you got the age on it and it was in and then you had it was like a secondary thing into the seller and it was just, uh, something that everybody had been talking about, that had maybe tasted it with Bill or had been in with Rob or whatever. And then they, when they released it, it's like nobody was lying.
Speaker 4:And then here we were, like 15 years ago, we're never going to release an H-State on bourbon. And yeah, there we were in 2023 releasing an H.
Speaker 1:We were, and 2023, I think, the bourbon world was hoping you would yeah, there were so many people that were like oh my gosh, please bring out some old stuff, especially fred minnow, but he was the one you know every year like you're doing it and so one of the first people we rang when we decided to release that product and we're like we're doing it, we're really excited about that.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, he definitely did credit Well.
Speaker 6:Minkage was one of my favorite bourbons early on. Well, I love weeded bourbon, but I always thought, god, I wonder what this would taste like if it was 12 years old.
Speaker 4:And do you remember how you were introduced to Minkage Like your Minkage Mark story?
Speaker 6:Do you remember the first time that you drank it? Well, it's the first time we came down here for our tours. I just was. I was like the most beautiful distillery is Maker's Mark. Everybody should go to Maker's Mark and just the hospitality and watching the ladies put the labels on and all those, and the art I mean you don't even talk about the art, that's here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Rob Summers likes to call it the nappification of Brazil.
Speaker 4:So it's not just creating delicious whiskey, but culinary arts, education, nature, and many people don't know, or maybe you do, that Jeff is a very accomplished artist and our house is wall to wall with art, so maybe we'll have to commission.
Speaker 6:I'm on board for that he's commissioned a piece for the beans, so maybe same company you know exactly.
Speaker 4:So yeah, let's create some magic together, wow.
Speaker 2:I would definitely that would be that would be fun.
Speaker 4:I mean, we just loved the art installations that you have here, and it's actually Margie Samuels, our founder, who you have to thank for a lot of what you see down here today, because she didn't want this place to look like an industrial distillery. She wanted to base it on an old Victorian village. You can see the picture. She really nailed the green bone novel.
Speaker 2:And then fast forward to the Christmas celebration. You know what I mean. It is a village, you have carolers and you sit there walking through and then how the distillery grows. But it's growing within, with not so much outside. So, like when we first came down here, where the stills were, there was only a certain amount of stills, and now there's exact same amounts, not not the exact the exact same stills, but more of them yeah, you've got three sets of them now, so we're going to the studio it's almost like you're looking into a mirror, because we're so, you know, protective over that founder's vision.
Speaker 4:You know, as we grow we don't build bigger stills, bigger fermenters, but replicate what we've already got just to sort of protect that ethos and that flavor so I have to confess, um, I did a blind um maker's mark.
Speaker 2:Uh, a while back we did it and there was um private select, there was 46, there was cast rank maker's mark and blind, uh, and it's. It's funny because when you, when you take away all preconceived notions, the one that I picked that tasted above all, above all, was maker's mark. It was caramel and rich, and the other ones kind of had some little bit of this and that he couldn't believe it.
Speaker 2:One of them was bread pudding. You know the private select bread pudding, and I could tell that's what it was, but the Maker's Mark still, and I thought I was picking castrate or something and nope, it was Maker's Mark. So that kind of tells you how good of a product that you guys are working with.
Speaker 4:Exactly, yeah, not an H-statement bourbon, but we're aging those liquids going into Classic Maker's Mark. You know no less than six about six to eight-year-old whiskeys that are going into a Maker's Mark Classic. So it's all about quality, even on the entry-level Maker's Mark.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then you have the Ambassador Program. We do.
Speaker 4:Are you all ambassadors? Oh, of course, the ambassador program. Are you all ambassadors Of?
Speaker 2:course, our barrel is eight. It could be this year. It's going from six to seven and I'm going five to six, right Because?
Speaker 6:I'm a year behind you, Roxy.
Speaker 4:we're doing the ambassador tour at the moment as well. So we're refreshing the ambassador tour, so watch this space, ambassadors.
Speaker 2:So by the time it comes in I'll be able to go on. Maybe we'll give you a little sort of yeah, and I'm buying every bottle that I possibly can of that barrel.
Speaker 6:Our ambassadors will be as many as you let us.
Speaker 4:It wouldn't be this brand without our ambassadors. Our ambassadors named our lakes actually. So Heritage Lake is where we're pulling for your bourbon production. We're pulling from our spring-fed water source, on site put out a vote to ambassadors to name the lakes, and that one was named Heritage Lakes. So thank you for your service. That's a great name.
Speaker 6:That's great.
Speaker 1:Which is the Heritage Collection.
Speaker 4:Heritage Lakes. We purchased a second lake a number of years ago. If we're thinking about contaminations, droughts, anything in the future, we still want to be pulling from our own water source on site here. So most sane businesses have a 25-year-old business plan where we've got a 200-year-old vision down here.
Speaker 3:So we're talking about the what-ifs?
Speaker 4:making sure that we can be down here for future generations to come. Purchased a second lake and after we got that second lake, which we'll probably name them now because we just called that that main lake, the lake they named uh, the second lake, samuel's lake, and then our main lake where we're pulling for all your bourbon to production heritage lake so you're?
Speaker 2:you're like, when you're headed to there, you're going, I'm going over the heritage, right?
Speaker 4:so you used to say I'm going to the main lake going to the main lake, um, and yeah, we're pulling water samples every morning, putting them through quality control testing before we go into that day's worth of production. That lake's about 11 and a half acre footprint, one of the cleanest water sources in kentucky because we own the whole 75 acre watershed around that lake sure, so controlling the quality of water no livestock runoff, no soil erosion.
Speaker 4:Bring about native, warm grasses, in turn keeping as pristine as possible. And if you want to quit your jobs and come and work for makers, you can actually fish the lake if you've got a makers mark badge on.
Speaker 3:So we can go and fish for bass, carp, bluegill, paddle fishing.
Speaker 4:You see some of us fishing up there.
Speaker 1:I didn't even know it was a bring your own pole tour yeah. That's the next level, right there.
Speaker 2:Did you bring your? Oh, I forget. Okay, your application, yeah, your application.
Speaker 3:No, it's online.
Speaker 2:Resume.
Speaker 4:That's what I was looking for. Did you bring your?
Speaker 2:resume.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'll be looking for it later. It's in here.
Speaker 1:But I like the idea of a bring-your-own-pull tour and then you have samples that you taste and you fish while you're getting the views, oh, you're giving me ideas for new experiences right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you could catch the fish and then get it cooked.
Speaker 4:Yeah, a teepee by the side of the lake where you're just grilling out, sipping on whiskey as you're fishing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just have the. Yeah, you could just have the chef with the yeah, that's an all-day experience.
Speaker 4:You don't even leave, you just stay.
Speaker 2:Well, if you see me post that next fish maker's mark does go well with fish.
Speaker 4:Perfectly.
Speaker 1:So I'm interested in the Wagyu. I'm interested Idea of cooking some Wagyu and making a marinade of some sort with some makers. I think that would be.
Speaker 4:Yes Sounds good.
Speaker 3:A little marinade, maybe that honey.
Speaker 1:A little marinade. Get that honey, use that in the marinade.
Speaker 4:We're actually growing our own sorghum on site as well, so maybe glazing sorghum before it gets roasted. Yeah, that would just be Really small herd of Wagyu, about 8 to 16, on the pasture at any one time just to facilitate rotational grazing and farm to table down here. But they are 78% Wagyu and the rest of them as a mixed breed, as Angus, purely on flavour and how well they do in this climate. What's really funny is they've got a guardian and he's a donkey called Gus Gus.
Speaker 3:So he actually protects our Wagyu on site.
Speaker 4:He's fast becoming the star of Star Hill Farm.
Speaker 6:But he is so protective.
Speaker 4:He will not let any coyotes or neighbouring farm dogs that get loose near that herd and actually we finish our wagging cows off on the by-product of fermentation, the stillage. Unfortunately for them, there's no alcohol in it at that point. It's really high in protein. They love the flavour of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was going to say so. You guys probably, yeah, you probably get it all out Now do you do?
Speaker 4:is the stillage wet or dry? Ours is wet, and then we give that to local farmers within a 30 mile radius and they can come and pick that up to feed their cows. And then we'll take it to the next level as well, which is wet capes, and that can be distributed a little bit further than that 30 mile radius.
Speaker 2:That was at a distillery that would give out there and it was a smaller distillery in Lexington, and his stillage was based off of him slapping a shovel through a screen. So when the cow saw the stillage the blue barrels that he was giving and they saw it the cows would surround the truck and then they would do it and they would actually sometimes just fall over so they knew they were coming to the bar. It's funny how animals also participate in spirits. You know berries off of our tree we have a flowering crab apple tree and then in November, after they've all fermented, we get these starlings come and they'll just sit there and eat them. And they'll be eating them and all of a sudden you'll watch one just go boop. That's hilarious.
Speaker 4:I love that. And then you need to actually take your apples and turn them into apple butter, because apple butter old-fashioned is one of Rob Samuel's favorite cocktails. It works incredible. We've got our own orchard here as well, so we make our own on site.
Speaker 2:That sounds delicious.
Speaker 1:So many options. So the other thing that and I'm not very informed on this program, but I saw it and have seen it- but I guess it's only four states the bottle drop program, so that's something that's, is it? Something that's new is it a couple years old?
Speaker 4:what, yeah, we've been running that for a number of years now, so it it's called the Whiskey Drop so you can sign up depending on what state you're in. Just for legalities we drop off quarterly sort of special releases of Maker's Mark so you get two in a pack that's just rotational every quarter. So people get the first dibs on sort of new releases, pairing them next to existing releases.
Speaker 1:Are you in that?
Speaker 5:I'm not yet Okay. So I'm moving to Arizona later this year so I may be able to sign a policy. Go back and check the shipping policies.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because right now I think there's four or five states and I know.
Speaker 4:Kentucky and Washington DC are two of those four.
Speaker 1:But, great program I mean, you know people that are trying to get the special releases, the seller-aged and again to be able to have first chance to get stuff like that. It's a really cool program.
Speaker 4:And what's really cool if you sign up for it is our head of innovation and blending, beth Buckner. She will do live virtual tastings where you can actually follow along with your bottle at home and get to know that sort of product a little bit better.
Speaker 2:That's innovative.
Speaker 1:I need a Kentucky PO box. Yeah, you do I'll set you one down here, get the PO box and just put it in my PO box. I'll be down there Friday.
Speaker 2:So, now that you've talked about all the different innovations that we have here, well, what is your? We want to taste one. What's your favorite?
Speaker 4:I don't have favorites. It depends what mood I'm in, what time of day it is.
Speaker 2:Okay, it's 12.24.
Speaker 4:Okay, so we're talking lunch bourbon now.
Speaker 2:Are we in a good mood? Yes, we're having a fantastic day there. We go.
Speaker 4:No, I actually brought four of my favorites along. So, like children, it's really hard to tell my favorite or to pick a favorite, but we're gonna run through. Um, the heart release, which was last year's wood finishing release it was the first of a series of five that we're going to be releasing over the next five years. Um, the old wood finishing release was an ode to certain parts of production, whereas this one we're really heroing and championing the people that make the bourbon and that work at the distillery so the heart release actually was the distillery team.
Speaker 4:We got them all into a room and asked them what the hell, oh, which one is that?
Speaker 2:this one, that's the heart, perfect. So that's the heart release.
Speaker 4:That's the heart release so this one, you know yummy caramel. You've got coming through chocolate maple notes coming through on this one. And this was the distillery team that created this bourbon, with our head of innovation, Beth.
Speaker 2:Wow, those are really nice glasses.
Speaker 4:So this one's 112 proof. I love that noise Glug, glug, glug yeah we're picking it up. Just pouring this all over the table as well.
Speaker 2:I'm used to that.
Speaker 4:You know what they say made with care. Well, we say that Made with care, sipped with care. So let it open out a little bit as well, because it is class.
Speaker 2:I have to tell you because I have to do this? Because we have another guest or podcaster that was supposed to be here.
Speaker 6:Oh, you're going to out.
Speaker 2:Martin.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm outing him. You're outing him on my podcast.
Speaker 2:So he's called Super Nash because initially early on, whenever we needed something, he sent it up to us. He could get us anything for the podcast, and so eventually he became part of the podcast. Well, he came up yesterday with his three brothers, so the four of them came up, and last night in Bardstown there happened to be a brawl between him and his brother.
Speaker 6:You're not going to say a brawl, a fracas, a fracas.
Speaker 2:They basically cracked each other's ribs. Now, today, they're totally fine. But he said, I'm kind of not in the condition, because my eye's black and my face is scratched. So we're going to do a toast to Super.
Speaker 1:Nash, to the Nash's, cheers to doctors and ribs and bandages, all right.
Speaker 4:So yeah, this was really our distillery team. We asked them what their favourite aromas were, favourite flavours, you know, day to day, that were coming out of the still house and we thought they were going to be the usual suspects that they were calling out, like your vanillas, your baking spices. But actually the three profiles that kept coming up Over and over again from our distillery team Was the chocolate, the maple, and then the which one chocolate, maple and caramel coming through. I just had a brain freezer it's actually you can.
Speaker 2:The nose actually picks up a little bit of the grain, the wheat agreed, you could get that.
Speaker 4:Just you get the chocolate you know, but that weed is there exactly and then you leave it to open out as it oxidizes, you start to get more of those yummy wood sugars coming through. So remember, this is six to eight-year-old maker's mark, and then we're going to insert those finishing staves into the barrel and then leave it in our temperature-controlled bourbon cellar. So yeah, the first is a note to the folks that work in the distillery making your bourbon every day. What did you think of this?
Speaker 2:one when you tasted it.
Speaker 3:I loved it.
Speaker 1:I haven't had this, since we drank it here during the bus tour.
Speaker 6:I think we bought it, yeah, but I haven't had it since then because you know, but it's great.
Speaker 1:I mean it hits on all my sweet note palates.
Speaker 4:Just yum, yum yum.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, I love Mouthfuls viscous. When you get the wood sugars going and you pick up the maple and everything that's, and chocolate especially so, going back to the lakes, the water.
Speaker 2:So, people, a lot of times water is used two different ways. Right, it's used in the distilling process, where pretty much it's evaporated off and and and and all impurities of of it. I mean, I've been with people who moonshine and we pull from a stream where you would think, you know, are we really pulling from this natural stream which has got rotting, whatever? But? But the process eliminates it. But then you also have your proofing down water, right, and that's where you're keeping the lake and all the balance and everything and watching that.
Speaker 4:So we'll use the Heritage Lake water for cooking, fermenting distilling.
Speaker 3:You'll be pleased to know that everything after that is no longer lake water but RO water.
Speaker 4:So reverse osmosis, completely neutralized water that we're going into one turn at barrel proof and then that we're cutting bourbon down with some of the lower proof makers. Mark like the 90 proof yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that's, that's, that's the period, but that's. But that people don't understand what kind of skill that is to get you know you can't just just like take the water and add it in. It's not just a pour-in thing. There are so many different ways to do it and I'm sure you guys have your way.
Speaker 4:Exactly, and remember, as you said, we're pouring from the stream with the moonshiners. When that water gets pumped down to the distillery, we're taking it up to a boiling point before we add it to our cooker.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we're pretty passionate about water down here, Well, yeah, and then eventually it all just gets done and put through the beer and then the whole process. So I understand that part of the process with water.
Speaker 1:Do you?
Speaker 4:say you're passionate about water.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, because you know some people Do you see the water that?
Speaker 4:we're drinking.
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, I have to admit, this is fantastic everybody, you'll be pleased to know this is also not late water.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think I. This is the nicest water bottle we've ever had. You'll be pleased to know this is also not late water, yeah thanks, I thought I got a little bass, a little bass.
Speaker 2:Some minnows in there. There's some minnows.
Speaker 4:These are actually pretty cool because this is part of our zero landfill initiative, so there's nothing going into landfill across the 1,100 acres, including the production facility.
Speaker 1:Well, mine's not going in the trash? No, you have no idea.
Speaker 2:Yeah, mine's not even getting recycled. It's going to be.
Speaker 1:Speaking of recycled, this is my favorite glass ever, I think so.
Speaker 4:This thing, yeah, I love it Well, cheers. So you're actually you're going home with these after the podcast.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, Really You're just showering us with treats. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And it's got the logo in the bottom. Oh my god, so these are hand blown by a glass artist in Louisville called Casey Highland.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's his signature just there Casey signature as small as could be it's just a handcrafted element, but good luck deciphering it it's a lot harder than CT he definitely got the stamp in so as you're drinking it.
Speaker 4:That's why it's forefront.
Speaker 2:And people I mean talk about how the stamp came about. I mean, that's something that's part of everything and people sometimes don't realize how important that is.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so the Summers family had a previous distillery before we set up Maker's Mark, and that was the TW Samuels distillery. So you know Bill Senior, our founder had a real aversion to the family whiskey back in the day.
Speaker 3:It was kind of like blow your ears off, put hairs on your chest, kind of pedestrianized whiskey.
Speaker 4:So he made the bold move of deciding to sell off the old family whiskey recipe, the distillery and a few other brands at the time and walked away from whiskey completely for a few years, did not see a future in it, tried to set up a cattle farm, set up a bank. His wife and his friends were like you're just not very good at anything else.
Speaker 4:And this is when he starts to come back to whiskey and think about that sort of concept and flavor vision from maker's mark. Because he didn't want his bourbon to be bitter, mid to front, palate flavor, that wheat sweet. So he created maker's mark with you know, his profile in mind.
Speaker 4:It just so happens the rest of us love it too. When they sold off their old family whiskey recipe, they sold off the rights to putting their name on the bottle again, so we have to think of something else to call our bourbon. So margie samuels was a like our founder was an avid collector of pewter.
Speaker 4:Pewter smiths, to tell pieces of work apart and as a sign of quality and craft, would put the maker's mark stamp on every piece, their mark of a maker. So margie just had this epiphany moment when they were trying to name this new product. We're so proud of it. It's a sign of quality that they put their Samuels family maker's mark stamp on every single bottle and that's where the emblem came from. So the S stands for the Samuels family. Now in their eighth generation, we've robbed Samuels at the helm. Today You've got the IV stands for four, right. So there were four generations of whiskey makers before we set up makers mark. Uh, there's a couple of sort of myths out there that did a little bit of family research further on down the line and realized there were actually six generations of whiskey makers so in roman numerals you just have to flip it right or look at it in the mirror.
Speaker 4:Yes, the true story is that there were four legal whiskey makers before we set up Makers Mart. There are some who are sort of fudging it a little bit and then you've got.
Speaker 4:the Star stands for Star Hill Distillery, where we're based in Loretta, kentucky. Fun fact about that Samuel's family had a farm in Bardstown called Star Hill Farm. When they sold that farm and moved over here, they moved the name over with them, but there is still a Star Hill Farm in Bardstown that's not owned by us anymore. And then, yeah, the circle just to sort of shape it all. Another myth is that if you see all these little breaks in that circle, the myth on that one is which I love is because Bill Jr always says why let the truth get in the way of a good story? Right? Three breaks in silent distillation in Samuel's family history. So Civil War Prohibition, and then we ripped up the recipe and started again.
Speaker 3:I like that story. Let's just stick with that.
Speaker 6:I like that too, really, it's probably just like a misprint. Everyone's like oh my bottle's not printed anymore.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's not like that's new to the bourbon industry. But at the same time, when you come here, the family mark is all over everything.
Speaker 4:It's iconic for us. It really is.
Speaker 2:And you know we've met Bill and Rob. What steakhouse was it that we were at?
Speaker 4:Was it Pat's Steakhouse? Yeah, what an experience. Yes, what steakhouse was it that we were at? Was it Pat's?
Speaker 2:Steakhouse. Yes, and they were upstairs and we were downstairs with Stephen Fonte and all of a sudden, super Nash and him are sneaking off and they're going and all of a sudden, before you know it, bill and Rob are downstairs talking with us giving a slit. So it's just the family.
Speaker 4:It's still real right, it really is and like the beep is real down here, so you know you come down here and it's just magical. You know Bill and Rob, real sort of progressives in the industry, early adopters on a lot of stuff with innovation, and they're just incredible to work for. Bill Jr is one of my favorites. Like he is one of the most unretired retired people in the world apart from Jimmy Russell from Wild Turkey.
Speaker 4:But those two last sort of you know set, of those real true old school, you know family distillers that are left with us today. Yeah, Bill's down here a couple of days a week. He's just had the most fruitful life. So he was the first official employee of KFC, Wasn't old enough to work at the distillery, Just passed his driving test. So he actually drove the Colonel around Kentucky for the first year he was in operation.
Speaker 4:The boy sold his spices his cooking and his dreams to all these restaurants in Kentucky. And if you look at the picture just up on the wall, you'll see the Colonel up there for that reason. Then he went on to work on the Polaris missile for NASA specifically on the tip of it as a rocket scientist and then he took over the reins of the distillery, but yeah, his sort of legacy. Liquid before he left was Maker's Mark 46. All the innovation coming out of the distillery was really born from Bill creating that product.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 4:Because he wanted more oomph coming out of his bourbon right. He likes to call it Maker's Mark on steroids.
Speaker 3:It's got that DNA taste profile of Maker's, but now it's like hepped up sipping put into cocktails with sugar water spirit bitters and it really stands out with it.
Speaker 2:I mean the testing that you did with that program and then the private select and everything that you've done with those different flavors that were. I think you know even when you listen. I've heard the story but no, I don't think anybody realized how many flavors would come out of just what. What that was and it's it changed the industry. I mean people are doing finish, stay finished and stuff all over the. You know what I mean. But that, but how you do it is so unique, you know, and putting it back and then putting it in the cellar and letting in all that kind of that's just an amazing program that was a great segue.
Speaker 4:Should we try the Stonehill Farm private select? Yes, let's try that also, just with my arm let's do.
Speaker 2:It know that, talk about now that you've pretty much all the bottles are now the same right. You've, you've.
Speaker 6:Yeah, sir, we've been working on the.
Speaker 3:Is that it?
Speaker 2:Yeah this one here, yeah. So it's like it's kind of cool that you had the private select used to be different and then the bottle and then you know that kind of thing and having the bottles and the labels, all I really think that brought the whole brand.
Speaker 4:And the labels, all. I really think that brought the whole brand. Our concept behind that was we started to look at the cars. All the bottles of Maker's Mark were great, like that old car strength bottle, that sort of you know the sort of smaller one that's squattier. But what we noticed is you look?
Speaker 4:at all the Maker's Mark bottles and the family on the back bar, and they're all sort of different sizes and different designs so the idea was just to align them all so they're all part of the sort of same family right, so you still got the classic makers, uh, the 101, the car strength, that core range in that classic makers mark bottle and then all the wood finishing coming out celeraged, as in this new design that we've got in front of us just here.
Speaker 2:Which is kind of just like an extended where the other one before was rounded and complete.
Speaker 4:But that is in the. It's just like an elongated design of the classic photo.
Speaker 3:Oh, you're pouring for us this time.
Speaker 4:No, I was going to.
Speaker 2:You poured perfectly before.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't so spill all over the table. No, no, I'm talking about amounts. Have you seen me?
Speaker 4:Right. Well, you're getting a quarter ounce right now. My pours are heavy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've got to watch out my pours end up like yeah.
Speaker 4:So, as you said, we've got 1,001 flavor combinations that you can create and put your own flavor vision on a barrel of Maker's Mark through the Private Select Program.
Speaker 1:This has got a super sweet marshmallow in it.
Speaker 4:This one's pretty cool, actually, because I've got off-farm partners.
Speaker 1:It's those Mindyans. How do you say that state Mindyans Mondion?
Speaker 4:Mondion. The Mondion state must be what it is we're from being from.
Speaker 2:Ohio. Ohio has done amazing things with Maker's Mark as far as the Private select and the barrel select, and it's funny because initially the names were you know, bread pudding, you know chai tea latte, and people that didn't know were somewhat misunderstanding, but it sold really well. So then they came out well, we're not, we shouldn't do that maybe. Maybe let's just call it you know, so people won't think that, oh it completely, this doesn't taste like apple pie or whatever. But then they named it that and then whatever, and now the last round again was back to naming them the flavors. Because you know, that just helped, that just helps, and I really thought it was kind of cool.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what I think it helps with is because there are so many flavor combinations that you can create. So how do you sort of tell the recipes apart? So it's a nice little way of letting you know that it's evocative of those types of flavors Not that you're just going to be drinking a grain cracker, a graham cracker or a triple chocolate, but isn't that?
Speaker 2:all tasting notes with bourbon pretty much. I mean, I think, caramel. Every once in a while you'll taste a bourbon and it'll taste like liquid caramel, like you're drinking caramel sauce, but that's not always the case, but most of the time when you're pulling those tasting notes, it's hints of that, along with the pepper or the oak will determine a lot of time how much, because if there's a lack of that pepper and oak you really can taste it. But you know you're making bourbon for everybody, so you know there's a whole big class that loves the pepper and the oak.
Speaker 4:Exactly so. You know, you might prefer heavy Cuvée stable, you might prefer heavy Mondion in your recipe selection. But you bet your bottom dollar that we had to make sure that all the 1001 of those flavor combinations worked, so I put them all through gas chromatographers to pick up parts per billion to make sure that all of those 1001 flavors truly did work, depending on what your jam is.
Speaker 3:So when we're trying in front of us, I actually tossed our farm partners and our farm team that look after the farm at Star Hill.
Speaker 4:Farm. I tossed them to bring to life Star Hill Farm in liquid form, and this is what they created for you. This is only available for people on farm experiences to taste and then to unlock in the gift shop after You're drinking a 111.6 proof of this one, folks. So no cut down bourbon for you today.
Speaker 2:All right, real quick, talk about the different experiences. That's what you're talking about. What is here and how? I mean it's just, I mean you've got to, people can rent the house. You know the state. I mean, there's so many different experiences.
Speaker 4:We don't have accommodation on site, but maybe in the future. But what we're really working?
Speaker 2:on, but was it the Bill Samuel? The Samuel's house is technically not a building.
Speaker 4:It's not a building, oh it's separate.
Speaker 1:But it exists.
Speaker 2:It exists, okay, so it's not part of the experience. Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 4:So that's now literally their old Samuel's house. That was in the family for a very long time. There was a short period where it wasn't owned by the Samuels family and then they decided to purchase, bring it back to its historic element and now they're doing it as a little sort of bed and breakfast area. Yeah, but here but here Not yet.
Speaker 2:We're building out. You're thinking about that.
Speaker 4:Maybe in the future, who knows? On site here today we've got seven different Star Hill Farm experiences going out away from that classic tour path. So agritourism is really gaining momentum across America. Something completely different on the Bourbon Trail If you've been on your classic tours across the Bourbon.
Speaker 4:Trail and you're looking for something a little bit unique or something different to do the next time you visit. Check out some of the Star Hill Farm experiences we've got. We've got a daily Star Hill Farm tour that goes out where you get to see the fields, forest production areas. You get an arrival cocktail and three wood finishing pours on the farm tour. That's a mixture of walking and then we jump into either UTVs or SUVs to go see those 1,100 acres.
Speaker 1:So how new is that it's been?
Speaker 4:running for about a year now to go see those 1100 acres. So how new is that?
Speaker 1:It's been running for about a year now.
Speaker 4:We've got a wax dips honey drips. That is only available when the bees are not in hibernation, but you get to spend time with our beekeeper.
Speaker 4:Cody Gibbons dissecting hives looking at pollination areas, visiting the bee boxes, and then we do a bourbon and honey connoisseurs tasting as part of that, so that's going down really well. The sir's tasting as part of that, so that's going down really well. They've got a daily whiskey creek walking tour that goes out. You meander and follow whiskey creek as it moves through nature into the distillery and we're talking about history and heritage, production and then some of our higher purpose. Um, we've also got an oak experience that goes out. So if you really want to geek out on oak the flavors it gives our whiskey from seed to sip then you get to plant your own four-year-old oak tree on site to leave your mark. You can visit it over the years with a little numbered key chain.
Speaker 6:So we have it on a grid system so you can go and keep an eye on your tree over the years. Right, so that's a really cool experience we have going on. I guess we're coming down here like six more times.
Speaker 4:Yes, we've got the biggest white oak research forest in the world down here, so we're, for the first time in history, looking at the protection of American white oak genetics, so you get to visit our genome tree on that, and then our white oak research forest that's so incredibly important, not only for the bourbon industry but also for the United States.
Speaker 5:I mean, we look at some of the tragedies that have happened with forest fires and things like that. So both you know, actually planting, replanting as well as forest management, is an incredibly important thing, because we really are stewards and I think you hit on that several times that we have stewardship of the land. And if you take that seriously, then you manage forests. You don't manage them as a well. Every tree must stand for all time, because they won't, they'll burn Manage them as a well.
Speaker 5:Every tree must stand for all time, because they won't. They'll burn. But if you take it from a responsible management standpoint and you plant new and you take, you know older, and then you make sure the forest is clean and effective and efficient, if you make sure that it works together, it's really great Bingo and it's not just about forestry management for us.
Speaker 4:It's about, for the first time in history, looking at genetics of american white oaks. If you want to protect a species, the first thing you have to do is genetically sequence it stake in the ground for future learnings. So we've got our mother tree on site. She's the first genetically sequenced oak tree in american history and she's here at star hill farm. So got a bb gun shot down buds from the top of her, broke down those tissue samples into over 540 million pairs of DNA that we can sequence and take learnings from.
Speaker 4:So that's a collaboration between Independent Stave Company, who we partner on the barrels with the University of Kentucky and ourselves, and these are never going to make barrel trees, this is just for genetic learners.
Speaker 4:So we went across the growing region of American white oak assessed the finest mother trees we could find, waited for them to drop acorns, took them back to the university, kentucky, and grew them into one-year-olds to plant in our research forest. So this is going to be for our children's children. This is going to far outlive all of us in this room of educational learnings. But if there are huge climate swings in the future, can we tweak their genetics to allow them to stand a fighting chance? Diversity of species has been bred out over the last 50 to 60 years. So imparting diversity of species back into North American forestry management, and then we're looking at a few other things with that as well. So, yeah, we've got about 80 to 130 year old loadings coming out of that. Cheers to that that's amazing.
Speaker 2:Cheers, cheers to that.
Speaker 5:There's not much forested land in the United States that's covered in pine, so it's incredibly important to advocate for the white oak. Exactly, and it's a keystone of any forest.
Speaker 4:If you take bourbon barrels out of it, you take white oak out of a forest. The rest of it's just crumbling. So it's really key for future plants.
Speaker 2:Alright, anything else.
Speaker 4:Should we try something else?
Speaker 2:Okay, we can try. We got a little bit more time.
Speaker 4:You know talking about barrels can you do the keepers? Yeah let's do the new keepers release. So this is hot off the press for this one.
Speaker 2:Which one is it?
Speaker 4:It's this one right here.
Speaker 1:So when does the experience come where you get to stay the night on site and you have your own bungalows?
Speaker 4:One day I'm waiting for that one too.
Speaker 1:I want to do all the experiences and then stay in the bungalow overnight.
Speaker 2:Because you have to stay in the bungalow, because you did all the experiences, so I've got a hack on that.
Speaker 4:We don't have any accommodation on site, but this is really cool Wagon Wheel Bondominium. That's literally a stone's throw away from Makers. You can just book that. It suits up to 10 people.
Speaker 1:Until we get accommodation on site one day, then that's a second option yeah, I'm thinking tiny houses, you know like why not?
Speaker 4:See, I was thinking like it'd be really cool to do some, like you know, bougie yurts, you know sort of glamping style.
Speaker 5:Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, oh, definitely Well tiny nose is part of my evil plan. I'm going to make a a cabin somewhere and try and build a cellar and say hey, do you need some extra?
Speaker 3:capacity. There you go, love that.
Speaker 5:Work with a geologist and find the biggest limestone top hill I can find.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 2:So it's fun doing a podcast at lunchtime, right.
Speaker 4:Oh, that's great.
Speaker 2:So how much as far as tasting through and helping taste, do you work in that area? I?
Speaker 4:kind of work in all areas. So, yeah like working with liquid, with innovation, working with the coloring cocktail team, the farm team, which is, you know, our farm partners and our core farm team down here, and then the hospitality experience team as well. So, yeah, I kind of touch every sort of element and area.
Speaker 2:So what's the coolest thing you've learned since you've been here? Like you brought a whole arsenal to them, but what have you learned since you've been here in Kentucky as far as working here? How?
Speaker 4:strong. The culture is around here.
Speaker 4:I think, that's one thing that I've been visiting Kentucky when I lived in London for a number of years with, like you know, barrel picks and my customers, but really being in it and immersing in it. It's just the culture is so strong around here, that heritage around here, the people are what make the place down here at maker's mark. Um, so yeah, I'd say that. And then I'm really getting weedy about regenerative agriculture, soil health, soil biology, um, and just you know that holistic, like working with mother nature when it comes to raw materials. So I'm like geeking out about that big time.
Speaker 6:It's all about the microbes, all the microbes. It's all about the microbes. You're talking to, the science All right, we need to get off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll talk later.
Speaker 3:Okay you just went.
Speaker 2:That went to yeah, that went to another level.
Speaker 5:That's whole level.
Speaker 2:That's delicious, it's very, very.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of honey on the nose, wouldn't you say it's very like get that, yeah, like it's like it's not just honey, it's like a like soaked in honey.
Speaker 2:But of the three now, what's the proof on that one? Like a sugar. So yeah, the easiness of this one compared to the other two. The other two had a decent amount of whatever, but this is just a sipper where it's just like you don't have to do anything but taste it and relax.
Speaker 4:It's beautiful, so our folks in the warehouse are going to be really happy about you saying that because this is the second release out of the five in the new wood finishing series, and actually you are some of the first folks to try this.
Speaker 6:This is going to be released in the next couple of weeks. It's outstanding. Wow, yeah it really is so.
Speaker 4:this is the wood finish in 2025, and this is called the Keeper's Release. So you know the hot release, our distillery team had a hand in like creating the vision for that, whereas this is our folks in the warehouses that are filling barrels, emptying barrels, hand-rotating barrels.
Speaker 3:So this is our warehouse team that came up with the flavor profile of this one Cheers, cheers.
Speaker 4:Cheers. Thanks for having me. This has been awesome. I could sit here and chat with you all day.
Speaker 5:Thanks for inviting us into your office at home.
Speaker 1:Yes, and sharing, sharing some amazing stuff. Where are you going to?
Speaker 4:get out of this. It's like bold oak, it's like a toasted sweetness coming through, because they took all our elements. So top of the rick house with flavours and aromas, you get up there, bottom of the rick house, charred wood like new wood going in. So we pulled flavours from all of those different elements of maturation and aging.
Speaker 2:There's a cinnamon French toast flavor to there, that's in there.
Speaker 4:That's a good taste. I'll put that in my pocket and I enjoy things that have that hint of oak in it.
Speaker 2:I said French toast, but it's not overpowering.
Speaker 6:So it's not like.
Speaker 2:I could say Amarano, but I'm not going to say that. Don't say that. You say that and you're getting booted.
Speaker 1:Yeah he doesn't like.
Speaker 5:Amarano. This is really funny because I have a Star Hill Farm French toast and I think you have one over there on the shelf too.
Speaker 6:And yet it finishes with the classic Maker's Mark profile. That is why I love it so much. Yes, it does Right. So what's left? Is that perfect?
Speaker 4:Always, always, that DNA profile of me Make it work. Yeah, it's just you know, accentuating some flavors and diving some down, exactly.
Speaker 2:The mouthfeel on. That is fantastic. It really is.
Speaker 6:The body is fantastic. It's really good.
Speaker 5:The nose just really is approachable, really sweet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, everybody look forward to this one.
Speaker 6:This release is going to be my nose right into a beehive.
Speaker 4:Yeah, the yummy sort of honey, honey, butterscotch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's delicious. All right, that's amazing. Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 4:It's such a pleasure I've had so much fun with you.
Speaker 2:Yes, and we've had a great time. So anybody else have a final question?
Speaker 6:Yeah, I wanted to say something about this beautiful gifted bottle to me with my name on it. It says Roxy, right there, and this is part of a spirited women's initiative with White Voices and they are highlighting women entrepreneurs and business women and I don't know if you noticed. Maybe go back and listen again. You heard a lot of she, she, she, she, she in this podcast.
Speaker 4:Oh yes, entrepreneurs and businesswomen, and I don't know if you noticed maybe go back and listen again you heard a lot of she, she, she, she, she in this podcast. Oh yeah, it's not just. You know, back in the day it's like today.
Speaker 6:No, today, vp of the brand, she's blowing the glasses. Head of innovation Female Head of innovation Director of higher purpose Female.
Speaker 4:Well, it should. That's the way it should be.
Speaker 2:It's not just because you guys that they're women. But it's the talent.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean yes, no, it's, it's.
Speaker 2:And when it comes to the, the whiskey industry, I've always felt one. We know that women have better factories. Now there are men who are supertasters, but there's more women in the percentage to be supertasters. So it just makes sense that women would be part of this industry, and I think it's one of the most unique things getting into this how they've always been a part of it. It, but how?
Speaker 4:now, in this day and age, it's time to be a platform for us now, right, but there's an equality in it and an acceptance to it right.
Speaker 2:I think it's important to the industry as well, because not only is it talking about your abilities, your knowledge and your skills?
Speaker 5:it's talking about a different form of advocacy, which is this is not just a man's game. This, this, is a spirit that can be enjoyed by everyone, and particularly by people who have keener senses, and when you're appealing to that, you can find someone. Just like we talk about in Whiskey is Whiskey Friends. You may not like this whiskey, but this is one you might like because we've talked about it, and then you can hone in on that very quickly with someone who has a very active palate, with someone who has a very active olfactory, and that's just a wonderful form of advocacy.
Speaker 2:And one of my favorite things to do in tastings is to do tastings at somebody's house and I always invite the couples. It's a couples thing and when I arrive, all the women usually are drinking wine and they're all kind of together and the guys are like what do you got? What are we tasting?
Speaker 4:So you're like with the guys we're tasting that stuff, yeah, but what is it?
Speaker 2:But then all of a sudden you do the tasting with the women and by the end of the night the guys are over there talking about whatever to them and all the women are asking me the question, because they just drank 121 proof and they can't believe it was not spicy or it wasn't all the. So it's just kind of a fun thing to do when you do tastings and whatnot. Of a fun thing to do, you know, when you, it's just when you do tastings and whatnot, and then, and then if you have some like yourself doing, a tasting, then they're like you said.
Speaker 4:they're just part of the group Yep, exactly.
Speaker 2:So, all right, Thank you everybody. We'll wrap this up. The way that this will end is I'll do my little end and we'll listen to a final song and we'll be done. All right, I'll do my little end and we'll listen to a final song and we'll be done. All right, all right. Www Dot Scotchie bourbon boys dot com for all things Scotchie bourbon boys. Make sure you check it out for T-shirts and Glencairns, but also make sure you check out the Makers Mark website, because the experiences are always changing. I mean, there are some that are here all the time, but you guys are always coming up with different types of experiences for everybody.
Speaker 2:We had a great time at the Holiday Sip and Stroll. I mean, that was amazing. And Frank got to give a shout out to Frank because he basically took an extra person in because there was only two tickets left and we had three and we just had such a good time. And just, everybody know the pre-drinking of the drinks up at the, the main house, where the drinks are fake, the old fashions were fantastic. It was just a great experience. And then also, um, remember, uh, we're on all facebook, instagram, youtube and x, along with Apple iHeart and Spotify, no matter how you listen or watch, make sure that you like, listen, comment and subscribe. Leave good feedback and everybody knows good bourbon equals good friends and good times. Make sure you drink responsibly. Don't drink and drive and live your life uncut and unfiltered, and little steve-o will take us out. Let's see if I can. Oh well, I cut that one off. He took us out for a minute. There he's back.
Speaker 3:Show me the way to the next whiskey bar. Oh, don't ask why. Oh, don't ask why. For if we don't find the next whiskey bar, I tell you we must die. I tell you we must die. I tell you, I tell you, I tell you we must die. I tell you, I tell you, I tell you we must die.
