Maker's Mark: A Watered Down Mess
I've been watching the Maker's Mark story unfold since February 9th when they announced to their ambassador's that they were going to lower the alcohol content in their signature bourbon. I thought everyone would enjoy a recap of some of the top stories, tweets and comments over the past week+.
- February 9, 2013Dear Maker’s Mark® Ambassador,
Lately we’ve been hearing from many of you that you’ve been having difficulty finding Maker’s Mark in your local stores. Fact is, demand for our bourbon is exceeding our ability to make it, which means we’re running very low on supply. We never imagined that the entire bourbon category would explode as it has over the past few years, nor that demand for Maker’s Mark would grow even faster.
We wanted you to be the first to know that, after looking at all possible solutions, we’ve worked carefully to reduce the alcohol by volume (ABV) by just 3%. This will enable us to maintain the same taste profile and increase our limited supply so there is enough Maker’s Mark to go around, while we continue to expand the distillery and increase our production capacity.
We have both tasted it extensively, and it’s completely consistent with the taste profile our founder/dad/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr., created nearly 60 years ago. We’ve also done extensive testing with Maker’s Mark drinkers, and they couldn’t tell a difference.
Nothing about how we handcraft Maker’s Mark has changed, from the use of locally sourced soft red winter wheat as the flavor grain, to aging the whisky to taste in air-dried American white oak barrels, to rotating our barrels during maturation, to hand-dipping every bottle in our signature red wax.
In other words, we’ve made sure we didn’t screw up your whisky.
By the way, if you have any comments or questions, as always, we invite you to drop us a line at [email protected] or [email protected]. Thanks for your support. And if you’ve got a little time on your hands, come down and see us at the distillery.
Sincerely,
Rob Samuels
Chief Operating Officer
Ambassador-in-Chief
Bill Samuels, Jr.
Chairman Emeritus
Ambassador-at-Large
Alcohol abuse! Maker's Mark cutting alcohol in its bourbon to meet high demandThe distillery behind Maker's Mark bourbon is reducing the amount of alcohol to meet a rise in global demand, company officials said ...- Rob Samuels answers questions about the news on Maker's Mark. fredminnick.com/blog/
Maker's Mark waters down bourbon to meet demandPrior to the announced change, Maker's Mark was 45% alcohol by volume, and according to company literature, the bourbon is now 42% al...- @StarzandStrypz Good call. We distill at a lower proof, meaning we add less water to every bottle and preserve more flavor. #GiveemtheBird
- Pot meet Kettle. Kettle meet Pot. "Irony | Maker’s Mark owner Beam criticized Jack Daniels for watering down whiskey.." ow.ly/hCTGZ
We distill our bourbons at a lower proof than competitors, allowing us to add less water and preserve more flavor. http://pic.twitter.com/8ejsrtYk- Say what? “@BourbonBanter: "Alcohol abuse! Maker's Mark cutting alcohol in its bourbon to meet high demand" ow.ly/hBTxE”
Maker's Mark Dropping Potency Of Its Bourbon By 3% Due To Demanding ...Perhaps it's that guy who always shows up with a bottle of Maker's Mark instead of a six-pack, or maybe you've got a stockpil...Blame it on the alcohol: Maker's Mark to be slightly less boozy
CNN quoted Rob Samuels, the company's COO, saying that the company is running behind on producing enough Maker's Mark, so after m...
Adding water? We'll leave that up to you. We bottle Rare Breed at barrel proof. #GiveemtheBird http://pic.twitter.com/KcoEJxjX
Makers Mark Decision Not Sitting Well With MarketersThe marketing world is reacting to the decision by Makers Mark to weaken their bourbon because they're running out of it. Bill Samuel...
Why Maker's Mark Watering Down Its Whiskey Doesn't Matter One BitWhy Maker's Mark Watering Down Its Whiskey Doesn't Matter One Bit This week, ubiquitous middle-shelf bourbon Maker's Mark ann...Maker's Mark Kentucky bourbon will be watered down to meet increased demand
Samuels and his son, Maker's Mark CEO Rob Samuels, insist consumers won't notice the change when the slightly weaker bourbon hits...
Reconsidered? From Maker's Mark FB page... #makersmark http://pic.twitter.com/otQpfPSh- Maker's Mark tried to cut alcohol content of its whiskey & learned important lesson: Do not mess with people's booze. tinyurl.com/b3mulqa
- Typed as fast as I could. Read our interview with Rob and Bill Samuels Jr about @MakersMark going back to 90 proof: drinkspirits.com/bourbon/interv…
- Well that was quick: Maker's Mark reverses decision to water down whiskey | ti.me/WDeGD6 (via @TIMENewsFeed)
- #YouSpokeWeListened RT @bdayspring: What an awesome engagement present! Thank you MakersMark for not changing anything at all.
- I threatened to cancel my Maker's Mark pipeline and they listened!!! Maker’s Mark reverses decision to cut amount of alcohol in whiskey, restores historic level!!! LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After backlash from customers, the producer of Maker’s Mark bourbon is reversing a decision to cut the amount of alcohol in bottles of its famous whiskey.
- Maker's Mark now with 6% less water. Moonshiners think you are all a bunch of pussies nbcnews.com/business/maker… via @NBCNewsBusiness
- Did Maker's Mark Commit Brand Suicide? - Forbes onforb.es/YaKhtg @bourbonblog @bourbonbanter @gobourbon @bourbonpr #bourbon #makers
- Apologies for our website troubles. Here is the message in full: facebook.com/makersmark/pos…













