As bourbon drinkers’ affinity for mash bills that elevate wheat over rye has swelled in recent years, it’s worth noting that Maker’s Mark has been a “wheated” bourbon since first introduced in 1958. Indeed, the Loretto, Kentucky, distillery has exclusively filled bottles with its signature mash bill of 70 percent corn, 16 percent wheat, and 14 percent barley. Until now.
Star Hill Farm Whisky, a new label the distillery is releasing this month at a suggested retail price of $100, kicks corn completely out of the equation—and therefore is not bourbon at all. (Famously and legally, bourbon mash bills must be at least 51 percent corn.) Instead, this wheat whiskey is a blend of two new mash bills—one composed of 70 percent red winter wheat and 30 percent malted barley, and one of 100 percent malted red winter wheat. (Malting is a standard distilling step in which grains are steeped in water and dried to boost fermentation and flavor.)
“The fingerprint of Maker’s Mark is on there, and we kept a lot of things in our process consistent,” says master distiller Blake Layfield. “But the idea was to let the grains control the flavor. It’s certainly different from bourbon. We’re pushing the wheat whiskey category forward.”
Much of that push came from managing director Rob Samuels, who has emphasized sustainability since assuming leadership from his father, Bill Samuels, Jr., in 2011. Recently, Maker’s Mark became the first distillery in the world to earn certification from Regenified, an organization that promotes eco-friendly agriculture. In line with Samuels’s vision, the distillery is transitioning all the Kentucky farmland it owns or controls to practices that include minimal soil disturbance, water conservation, and integration of livestock. Those efforts extend to Star Hill Farm, the bucolic 1,100-acre spread that is home to the distillery and provided the new whiskey’s name.
The process hasn’t been without its pains, including the departure of some longtime growers from the fold. “There was some initial skepticism of being able to do more by doing less instead of being hyper-focused on yield,” Layfield says. “This has been a mission of gaining understanding in working with our famers toward those goals.”
One element of the shift entailed deliberately planting the same wheat varietal in different places to determine if localized terroir yielded different flavors. That intense focus sparked the inspiration to break tradition and produce a wheat whiskey. “All of this is part of our push to gain more flavor from nature,” Layfield says.
Star Hill Farm Whisky is the first product to carry certification by the Estate Whiskey Alliance, a University of Kentucky initiative that spotlights local sourcing and sustainable production in the industry. (By the way, the mixed spelling of “whiskey” and “whisky” in this story isn’t an outbreak of typos. Maker’s Mark has long used the Scottish spelling to honor its founders’ ancestry.)
In the end, of course, sippers are happy for sustainability to be part of a whiskey’s story—as long as flavor isn’t sacrificed. “Tasting notes are subjective,” Layfield says, “but for me, I get golden raisins and gingerbread on the nose, and taste honeyed toffee, chocolate-covered cherries, and apple-pie spice. The finish brings toasted pecans and is really approachable for the cask-strength 114.7 proof.”
Don’t get too accustomed to those specific characteristics. The distillery intends Star Hill Farm Whisky to be an annual release that will vary wheat varietals, farms, and blend proportions to achieve the best flavor profile from year to year. In fact, Layfield discloses that whiskey distilled from grains grown solely at Star Hill Farm is already aging in barrels.
Another first? Maker’s Mark devotees no doubt will note that the bottle, though handsomely made of wavy glass, doesn’t have a neck dipped in wax, a marketing masterstroke devised by Samuels’s grandmother, Margie. “It’s been decided that because Star Hill is not bourbon, it doesn’t get the red wax,” Layfield explains. “That said, this is a unique and limited release. If you see a bottle, you might want to grab it.”
