A Woman’s Touch – The Maker’s Mark Story

Bill Samuels Sr. is famous for placing his family’s 170-year-old bourbon recipe in a bucket and setting it on fire. Bill’s dream was to produce America’s first premium Kentucky bourbon whiskey that was full-flavored and easy to drink.

Eventually, Maker’s Mark was born. The contributions that have propelled Maker’s Mark to the iconic brand that we know today, however, were made by the woman behind Bill Samuels Sr.

This is the story of Margie Samuels.

Back Story – 1950’s

The Samuels Family (Bill, Margie and 3 kids) were planning to retire on a farm in Bardstown, Kentucky. World War II was over and America was finally getting back to the new normal.

Post-war Americans very much enjoyed their cocktails and mixed drinks such as Sidecars, Tom Collins, and Whiskey Sours. The nation’s liquor of choice was vodka. Bourbon was generally viewed as a cheap, blue-collar drink because (back then) it was a rough-tasting spirit with a voracious kick, similar to moonshine. Even a quick sniff of 50’s bourbon could make your eyes water.

Soon after moving to Bardstown, Bill Sr. knew he wasn’t cut out to be a farmer. His wife, Margie, was essentially raising a family and managing the farm herself. She encouraged Bill to get out of the house to follow his dream of inventing a new-age bourbon.

**Remember, this was the 1950’s. There was extreme societal pressure for women to get married and raise a family. The average age for women to get married was 19 and they made up only 2% of business executives. For additional time period context, in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus and the minimum wage was 75 cents per hour. This was the ‘State of the Nation’.

A New Style of Bourbon – Timeline

1951 – Bourbon Advisory Committee
Bill Samuels Sr. enlisted a star-studded bourbon advisory committee to help him concoct the recipe for his new-age bourbon, including Jerry Beam (son of Jim Beam) and Pappy Van Winkle among others.

1952 – Testing Recipes
Bill tested recipes for his new bourbon by baking bread with different combinations of wheat, corn, and barley. This saved precious time because he didn’t have to wait for the prolonged aging process that bourbon requires.

TDT Fun Fact: Bourbon must be aged for at least 2 years to be considered “Straight Kentucky Bourbon”. Most bourbons are aged a minimum of 4 years as a benchmark. This is because manufacturers don’t have to disclose how long the bourbon is aged anytime after 4 years.

1953 – Distillery Acquired
Bill purchased the dilapidated Burks Mill and Distillery to start producing and aging his bourbon. The property was 200 acres and located near Loretto, Kentucky.

1959 – Maker’s Mark is Released
The first bottle of Maker’s Mark arrives on the shelves in Kentucky.

A Woman’s Touch – Iconic Branding

While Bill gets the credit for producing the bourbon, Margie Samuels is arguably more important in developing the Maker’s Mark brand that we know today. Our heroin, still in charge of raising the family and running the farm, thrusted herself into bourbon history by contributing the 3 iconic elements of the Maker’s Mark brand identity.

The Name
That’s right, Margie came up with the name ‘Maker’s Mark’. In the 1950’s, it was common to name bourbon after the man who produced it…Elijah Craig, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, etc. When Bill sold their property to buy the Bardstown farm, he also sold the rights to use his family name.

Margie had an English pewter collection and each piece was stamped with the ‘maker’s mark’ to signify the manufacturer. She thought this would be an excellent name for their bourbon. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Label
Margie also solely designed the Maker’s bottle label. She actually invented the font “Maker’s Mark” is written in as well as came up with the Samuels Family’s mark. Check out the label below.

You’ll notice under the ‘M’ in Maker’s is the family mark. The ‘S’, of course, stands for family name Samuels and the ‘IV’ signifies that Bill was a fourth-generation distiller. The star gives a nod to their farm which was called Star Family Farm. Lastly, Margie also insisted on hand-torn labels for all the bottles.

Maker’s Mark still uses the labels Margie designed and each one is printed on a 1935 Chandler and Price printing press. Every Maker’s product on the shelf is still bottled and labelled by hand at the Maker’s Mark Distillery.

The Bottle and Wax Dip
The iconic Maker’s Mark bottle is different than any other bottle on the shelf. You guessed it… Margie picked that out as well. She collected cognac bottles because she liked their curviness and thought it would be a differentiating shape for their new age bourbon.

But perhaps Margie’s most influential contribution to the Maker’s Mark brand was the idea to dip the top of the bottle in red wax. This was revolutionary because it truly differentiated the look of their product from the competition. The first Maker’s bottle was hand-dipped in wax on May 8, 1958 along with every bottle produced ever since. The Samuels had the foresight to trademark the ‘wax dip look’ so their bottle will remain unique forever. Good thinking, Margie!

Margie and Bill are a true 1950’s power couple (before that was a thing). Finally, Margie was recognized for her contributions to Maker’s Mark and the bourbon industry in 2014 being named to the Bourbon Hall of Fame. She is only the fourth woman to be inducted and it took over 55 years from when Maker’s first hit the shelves. Better late, than never!

Distillery Experience & Other Fun Facts

If you love Maker’s Mark, I would highly recommend getting out on the Bourbon Trail and checking out the distillery for yourself. The property itself is beautifully manicured and the authenticity is unmatched. Plus, you can even hand-dip your own Maker’s bottle! Over 100,000 people visit the distillery annually.

Address: 3350 Burks Spring Road, Loretto, Kentucky 40037

Hours of Operation: Opens at 9.30am most days. Updated tour schedule.

Cost: $10/person (includes tasting) and tours are approximately one hour.

Other Fun Facts:

1. They use the Scottish spelling “Whisky” as opposed to the America spelling “Whiskey” with an ‘e’. Only a couple other distilleries use this spelling – George Dickel and Old Forester are a couple examples.
2. Maker’s Mark Distillery was named a National Historic Landmark in 1980.
3. During their 60th anniversary, they unveiled an amazing 30 ft long blown glass display by nationally renowned artist Dale Chihuly in one of their rack houses. Pictured below.

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