About Maker's Mark
Maker’s Mark was created in 1953 when Bill Samuels Sr. and Margie Samuels bought the Star Hill Farm site in Loretto, Kentucky, with the aim of producing a softer, more approachable style of bourbon. The first bottles were released in 1958, and the brand quickly stood apart for its wheated recipe, replacing rye with red winter wheat, as well as its distinctive hand-dipped red wax seal.
The distillery remains closely tied to Star Hill Farm and its own water source, while the whisky is still shaped by the rounded, sweeter profile that comes from the wheated mashbill. In more recent years, the brand has also broadened its story beyond its classic bourbon, most notably with the launch of Star Hill Farm Whisky in 2025, the first new mashbill released from the distillery. Taken together, those milestones give Maker’s Mark a place in American whiskey that is both historic and clearly defined.