Tap Handle #824: Maker's Mark

June 28, 2024

Tap Handle #824: Maker's Mark

Tap size: 7.5" tall

Rarity: 10 or less seen

Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

This tap is so well made by the manufacturer that it actually looks like a real bottle of whiskey! Made of an amber-colored resin, it features a label and the signature red wax seal on the neck and top of the bottle that is associated with the Maker's Mark brand. Like most spirit taps, this was likely a promotional item, because spirit taps are rarely if ever seen in bars or restaurants. It first appeared around 2006-2007 and only about a half dozen have shown up on the secondary market since. If you are looking for an authentic version of this tap, beware of similar looking taps that a seller has converted from an actual glass bottle of Maker's Mark - those are not taps produced by Maker's Mark. Since it is a bit short in stature and lacks significant detail, I have not taken close up photos. The cost of these has jumped dramatically, possibly due to scarcity; the last one to appear was in 2021, and although it was missing the label, sold for over $200.

Tailor William (Bill) Samuels Senior inherited a minority share in the TW. Samuels Distillery when his father Lesley died in 1936. Bill's family had been in the distilling business since at 1779, and probably earlier than that. He ran the distillery until 1943 when Roosevelt ordered all distilleries that did not have a column high enough to produce industrial alcohol for the war effort to be closed. Bill sold the distillery and the family trademarks and went into the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant. He served for three years before returning to the family home. Bill then moved away from Whiskey Row with the intention of retiring as a gentleman farmer. He quickly found he was not suited to be a farmer and and began working on creating a new bourbon whisky. Production began in 1954, and the first run was bottled in 1958 under the brand's dipped red wax seal. Margie, Bill's wife, created the shape of the bottle, look of the label, signature red wax and even the Maker's Mark name. She is also credited for inventing bourbon tourism.

Maker's Mark was sold to Hiram Walker & Sons in 1981, which was in turn acquired by the distillery giant Allied Domecq in 1987. When Allied-Domecq was bought by Pernod Ricard in 2005, the Maker's Mark brand was sold to Deerfield, Illinois–based Fortune Brands. Fortune Brands split in 2011, with its alcoholic beverage business becoming Beam Inc. After the brand's creation by Bill Samuels Sr., its production was overseen by his son Bill Samuels Jr. until 2011 when he announced his retirement as president and CEO at the age of 70. His son Rob Samuels succeeded him. In 2014, Beam Inc. announced its sale to Suntory, creating Beam Suntory, the third largest distilled spirits maker in the world. In 2015, Beam Suntory announced a major expansion of the distillery.

Maker's Mark is unusual in that no rye is used as part of the mash. Instead of rye Maker's Mark uses red winter wheat (16%), along with corn (70%) and malted barley (14%) in the mash bill. During the planning phase of Maker's Mark, Samuels allegedly developed seven candidate mash bills for the new bourbon. As he did not have time to distill and age each one for tasting, he instead made a loaf of bread from each recipe and the one with no rye was judged the best tasting. Samuels also received considerable assistance and recipes from Stitzel-Weller owner Pappy Van Winkle, whose distillery produced the wheated Old Fitzgerald and W. L. Weller bourbons. The limestone shelf where the distillery is located is key to crafting the unique taste of Maker's Mark. Kentucky limestone filters out iron from water, which is unpleasant in bourbon. The pure calcium- and magnesium-rich water surrounding the distillery makes a better sour mash in which yeast can flourish.

Maker's Mark is aged for around six years, being bottled and marketed when the company's tasters agree that it is ready. Maker's Mark is marketed as a small batch Bourbon. Most producers of so-called small batch Bourbons do not clarify exactly what they mean by the term. The producer of Maker's Mark says that the traditional definition is "A bourbon that is produced/distilled in small quantities of approximately 1,000 gallons or less (20 barrels) from a mash bill of around 200 bushels of grain". Maker's Mark is one of a handful of American-made whiskies that uses the Scottish spelling "whisky" rather than the predominant American "whiskey".