Maker’s Mark is the most boring whiskey brand, ever.

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There’s a bit from comedian Jim Gaffigan where he describes what its like to be a waiter at a Mexican restaurant. He imagines a customer asking the waiter what nachos are. The waiter responds “It’s a tortilla with meat, cheese or vegetables.” Then customer asks what a burrito is and gets the same answer. The customer proceeds to ask what a tostada is and the waiter again responds with the same list of ingredients. Before the customer can inquire about another menu item, the waiter gets enraged and tells the customer that it’s all the same and to just say a Spanish word and they’ll bring them something.

I mention this because this is essentially Maker’s Mark entire business operation. Even when they release a new product, it still feels like we’ve had it before. Allow me to explain.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Maker’s Mark has proudly made and bottled whiskey the same way for decades. Their wheated bourbon uses the same recipe, the same barrel entry proof and the same yeast since their inception. The only changes prior to 2010 were slight proof variances, but even those never got too crazy. The lowest they ever went was 86 proof and the highest was only 101 proof (until 2014).

In lieu of actual changes to the bourbon inside, Maker’s Mark had hundreds of releases that showcased different artwork on the label or on the bottle itself. These depicted various charities, sporting teams/athletes, holidays or people that the brand wanted to honor. And just like the collectible decanters that other brands dabbled with throughout the years, the allure of making whiskey into a collectible not only kept them in business, but made them money hand-over-fist. It’s never been hard to do when your bottle wears a thick coat of that famous red wax.

In 2010, Maker’s finally took a leap and released a product that was “totally new;” Maker’s 46. This new label introduced the concept of wood stave finishing to their bourbon. The top of the barrel (the head) was removed and 10 seared French Oak staves were inserted before it was sealed back up. Then, standard Maker’s Mark bourbon was dumped into that barrel and rested in a chilled cellar for an additional month or so.

Maker’s slowly released other concepts as the years went on – like a Cask Strength bourbon in 2014 and their Private Select Single Barrel program (now called Private Selection) in 2015/16. That program was basically a DIY Maker’s 46 concept where groups could pick up to 5 different stave combinations to put into their own barrel.

These incremental improvements to their standard lineup seemed to indicate that Maker’s was leading up to something big. The concepts they released at that point were just slight variations to their standard product – batched bourbon between 4 to 7 years old, somewhere between 90 and 112 proof and sometimes with an oak stave finish.

But those new ideas never materialized. For the last 10 years we’ve been stuck with releases that continue to regurgitate the same tired ideas. Here’s what I’m talking about:

Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series

The concept for the first five releases of the Wood Finishing Series was the same as Maker’s 46. Take a small variety of oak staves, apply a toast, sear or char level to them and put them in the barrel. Voila, a slightly different profile. These all get rolled into the refrigerated cellar for a short period of time to limit how much tannins can be extracted – and that’s about it. The result created bourbons with a little bit more chocolate, a little bit more vanilla or a little bit more oak. It’s not that they weren’t good, but they were all just so similar to each other.

Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series (Round 2)

Maker’s Mark disappointed their fan base when they announced the end of their (first) Wood Finishing Series. Then, like a bad soap opera, they pulled the old “fake death switcheroo” and brought it back a year later. What’s different about it now? Nothing, really. They’re still putting the same types of staves in the same type of bourbon with the same process. I hope the CEO didn’t get a raise for this idea.

The Lost Recipe Series

Here’s an idea, remove the most beloved stave from the Private Selection program and then face backlash when fans become upset. Then offer up an excuse like “we were always going to switch out the staves in this program to keep it fresh” or something equally as absurd. Wait a couple years and then reintroduce it with a new label and call it the “Lost Recipe Series.” Does everyone realize that they’re just yanking our chains at this point?

Maker’s Mark DNA Series

There are a couple of backstories on how this one even came to be. Either you believe that Maker’s Mark genuinely wanted to experiment with the barrel entry proof they’ve used for almost 60 years OR their overlords at Beam-Suntory told them to cut costs and find efficiencies in their distillation process and suggested they use a higher barrel entry proof.

The end result was about as close as we’ll ever get to a true new concept by Maker’s Mark, but the results of the experiment were declared before any enthusiast ever got their first sip – they said the regular barrel entry proof of 110 was superior. Wait, you didn’t even allow us to vote on it to decide? It also proved that Maker’s Mark would never get off their obsession with not allowing a release to reach the 8 year old mark because this one was bottled at 7 years and 9 months. It was the first age statement we’d see on a Maker’s Mark product until…

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged Collection

The people that run Maker’s Mark must swear an oath upon being hired that states they can never let their bourbon taste just a little bit oakier. So how would you explain the Cellar Aged Collection using barrels 11 to 14 years old? Easy, they cheat the system by putting standard aged barrels into their giant refrigerator, errr, cellar and leaving them to “age” in a dormant environment until they reached double digits in age. I am constantly dumbfounded by people who claim that MMCA tastes older or even has an improved taste at all. It tastes like regular Maker’s Mark Cask Strength to me. The additional oak interaction was stymied for all those years of sitting at 54 degrees. It never becomes any more mature, it’s just legally allowed to wear the older age statement.

Can’t stop, won’t stop

If you haven’t picked up on the trend at this point in the article, then let me spell it out for you. Maker’s Mark refuses to introduce any new product to the market that would get away from their primary formula. They only have plans to release bourbon that tastes like it was aged in the middle floor of a warehouse for 6 years and has minimal tannin influence. It will also never be above 113 proof or below 90 proof. And if you think that Cellar Aged counts as a big shift, I would argue you’re wrong.

All Maker’s did was stashed their standard-aged barrels away in their giant hillside refrigerator for 4 to 7 more years to ensure that evaporation was limited and any extra years in the barrels wouldn’t result in more barrel influence. In short, it still tastes as young as it did when they rolled it in there.

How can Maker’s become exciting?

If Maker’s is so boring, what products could they make that would satisfy enthusiasts, show that they aren’t getting too far away from their roots and not abandon their legacy? I have some ideas.

Idea #1 – First and most obvious is to release a product – single barrel or batched – that has aged in their warehouses for over 10 years. Do not put it in the cellar, do not blend it with other younger barrels. Just bottle it as is. You can choose to either make this a deliberate release or you can give it a funny story like Wild Turkey did with “Unforgiven” where they claimed a worker accidently blended bourbon and rye whiskey together. The story could be “oops, one of our workers accidently bottled 12 year old, cask strength bourbon that spent its life on the middle floor in Warehouse X.” Its success would surpass anyone’s wildest dreams.

Idea #2 – Give us releases from barrels that were never rotated. Maybe make a three-bottle release of barrels aged on the bottom of a warehouse, the middle and the top. Let the consumers decide for themselves which profile they prefer. Maker’s will never do this because they know their top floor barrels would become the stuff of legends.

Idea #3 – The third idea is to create a new mash bill. I have seen the TTB label for a wheat whiskey (which is great! I’ll talk about it more in a future article) but how about creating something like a high-wheat bourbon similar to MGP’s 51/45/4 mash bill? I’m not saying you should do a rye’d bourbon release, but you should do something different to make the brand more interesting.

Idea #4 – Create very small, specialized gift shop releases and embrace things that Maker’s would not normally ever do. So many distilleries have done something just like this – Brown-Forman is a great example. Jack Daniels, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve have created dozens of cool little experiments that utilized double-barrel finishes or unique grains (maybe make a Maker’s batch with sweet corn or white corn) or use barrels made from maple wood or Mizunara Oak. Maker’s would be the perfect base for some one-off finishes.

Idea #5 – Collaborate! Collaborate with someone to do something interesting with your barrels. How about a Jefferson’s Voyage where you fill up a shipping container full of Maker’s barrels? I get it, you’re probably rivals, but if auto manufacturers can share technology across brands, you could too. How about a Blackened Collaboration much like what Willett did? Or maybe a Goose Island beer finish? The possibilities are endless, but the execs at Maker’s think their brand is too good to be associated with anyone else. Humble yourselves and start getting creative. With the next glut right around the corner, you’re going to have extra barrels to do something fun with.

Conclusion

Maker’s is a model distillery that has worked hard to get where it is today. But they’re very much the Toyota Camry of bourbon. They’re reliable and a little bit flashy but nobody is confusing them for Porsche/Pappy. Maybe their executives know something we don’t and they’re fine with the status quo. But the changes I’m advocating for aren’t meant to transform the entire company, they’re meant to appease enthusiasts who have grown tired and bored of the same old bourbon being fed to us year after year.

If someone from Maker’s is out there is listening, I implore you to do more. Reserve 1/1000th of your inventory to craft the truly exceptional products we know you’re capable of. Hire outsiders to run a small internal division to make these products and keep the purist gatekeepers within the company hierarchy from dictating what they can and can’t do. The time to embrace something new is now. Do it, or forever be known as the most boring bourbon distillery ever.