Makers Mark is one of the most iconic bourbons around the world and a lot of their success comes from the drinkability of their product.
Sweet, smooth, no bitterness, they say.
Sort of a bourbon that everyone can enjoy.
What I didn't realize about the operation was just the amount of manual labor that goes into handling all these barrels and the insane amount of real estate they need to produce the bourbon.
So today, I'm heading to Loretto, Kentucky to see how Maker's Mark have kept their product consistent for more than 60 years.
First up, I'm heading to the Independent Stave Company to see how they make custom barrels for Maker's Mark.
One of the rules of bourbon making is that you have to use a brand new white oak barrel every time.
So that means a lot of barrels.
So in terms of the Cooper's process, kind of what we're looking at here, this is really the first step.
This is called seasoning or air drying.
