A Visit To Maker’s Mark

by Richie January 23, 2025

January 23, 2025

If you can find Loretto, Kentucky, you’re just a short hop from Maker’s Mark Distillery.

It’s our tradition to visit a Kentucky bourbon distillery in the winter to celebrate a couple of birthdays. This year the choice was Maker’s Mark.

The Visitor Center is trending toward art exhibits lately. In the lobby is a Dale Chihuly glass chandelier.

Maker’s Mark, like most other distilleries, offers guided tours. Be prepared to walk, it’s a big campus on a hilly property.

You learn about the bourbon making process: the ingredients, the distillation, the barrel char. A good amount of hero-worship is given to the Master Distiller.

The fermentation vats are always a crowd pleaser. At Maker’s Mark you can see 100 year-old cypress tanks, three stories tall, filled with bubbling sour mash. I think they keep these vats around for the tourists. There’s other modern stainless tanks elsewhere in the factory, many built by our cousin’s local welding company.

On to the barrel warehouse, also known as a rickhouse. These are specially built storage buildings, some very old, and contain 50-60,000 barrels. Every few years one will collapse or get hit by lightening, and the whole town turns out to watch a river of bourbon run down the hill. Bring a jug!

Maker’s has a high roller room. You can buy your own barrel and have it bottled just for your enjoyment.

We were treated to another Chihuly glass exhibit – this one on the ceiling of a hallway between buildings.

The tour ends with complementary samples of bourbon in a special Tasting Room. This is the highlight for most folks. I usually give it a sniff and pass my samples to Tim. Just can’t do straight liquor. Not in my constitution.