This May I sat down for a quick bite of breakfast at Level III with Rob Samuels, Director of Global Brand Development for Maker's Mark bourbon. As tends to be the case in the bourbon industry, Samuels is related to someone else in the company- his father Bill Samuels Jr, the president of Maker's and himself the son of the company's founder.
Maker's doesn't buy or sell whisky to other distilleries. It is also the only bourbon distillery to air dry all of the wood for its barrels, says Samuels.
Maker's Mark is big in Japan. This is because 25 years ago Toyota built a factory in Kentucky and the Japanese took to the local hooch then brought it back home with them.
They only sell about 10% of Maker's beyond the US.
Australians drink more bourbon per capita than in the US, and probably more than anywhere else. Germany is the second biggest market for bourbon outside the US, which makes sense because Germany is pretty much the second largest market for every spirit outside of its home country.
The growth of bourbon outside the States is partially fueled by interest in the Mint Julep.
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