Maker's Mark distillery was founded by Charles Burks in 1805 in Loretto in Kentucky and today is one of the largest brands of Bourbon with an annual production of over 12 million liters of distillate. It had an alternating history; after the foundation it was relaunched by George R. Burks in 1898 and subsequently purchased in 1953 by Bill Samuels Jr, who recovered the founder's family recipe and began marketing in 1958.
Maker's Mark Bourbons stand out because they use winter wheat instead of rye and this gives the Whiskeys a characteristic sweetness, which has been the key to their commercial success. It was Bill Samuels' wife, Margie, who chose the shape of the bottle, the image of the label and the wax closure to make the bottle recognizable. Margie was one of the first active women in a distillery.
Even today, although the distillery belongs to the large Beam Suntory group, every activity in the production of Bourbons is artisanal and manual, without shortcuts to reduce production times.