When Maker’s Mark launched the inaugural release of its new Star Hill Farm wheat whiskey earlier this year, it marked the first non-bourbon to come out of the Kentucky whiskey giant’s distillery in its over-70-year-old history. Its original bourbon recipe, formulated by Bill Samuels Senior and first released in 1958, flipped the corn script and focused on wheat to bring something different to the market.
Now, eighth-generation descendant distiller and MD Rob Samuels is taking the brand’s vision one step further with a whiskey that eschews corn altogether. Instead it showcases the flavour of soft red winter wheat, sourced within 96km of the distillery, and puts a spotlight on farming methods.
‘Star Hill Farm uses the profile of Marker’s Mark to propel the regenerative farming movement,’ says Samuels of the purpose behind the new direction, which has seen extensive research behind the scenes. ‘It takes whiskey out of manufacturing, and forces us to understand where flavour comes from.’
Maker’s Mark Still House
‘A seismic shift’
Kentucky has a rich history of whiskey-making that has become famous around the world for centuries. From its origins in the 18th century and the beginnings of corn and rye being used in distillation, through Prohibition in the 1920s, to the official specification of bourbon in 1964. It’s been known as the epicentre of this majority corn spirit for centuries.
Star Hill Farm’s release, however, says a lot about the Kentucky whiskey story in 2025. Heritage brands, such as Maker’s Mark, are proving that you can teach old dogs new tricks; while newer distilleries are coming of age. This year alone, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail added a further 15 distilleries to its list, bringing the total to 60 of the 100 that are operating in Kentucky.
Considering there were less than 10 bourbon distilleries a mere two decades ago, it’s safe to say there has been a seismic shift not just in volume but also, inevitably, in approach.
New Riff Distilling was founded in 2014
New kids on the block
A brand that has made a serious impression in the UK is New Riff Distilling, founded in 2014 by spirits entrepreneur Ken Lewis and helmed by Master Distiller Brian Sprance. With a background in beer and no whiskey experience before he joined the distillery over a decade ago, Sprance had a mentor in Larry Ebersold, nicknamed ‘the godfather of rye whiskey’.
When Lewis, Ebersold and Sprance began the journey of building an all-new Kentucky whiskey brand in 2014, the market was more impersonal than it is now. ‘A lot of people didn’t know where their whiskey was coming from,’ Sprance explains. ‘There were a lot of, what we call in America, NDPs [non-distiller producers]. We wanted to come out and say, “We are making our own whiskey”.’
And that they did. Now the brand has everything from straight bourbon, to a 100% rye, heritage grain, and single malt whiskeys. ‘If you can find a cereal grain on the planet that we have not thought about, then you gotta let me know,’ quips Sprance. The team is playing around with various yeast strains and a pot still too.
New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Inspired by the past
Another brand looking at the fundamentals of whiskey-making is Potter Jane. It began when Jane Bowie and Denny Potter – respectively head of blending and Master Distiller at Maker’s Mark – left in 2022 to set up their own distillery. They didn’t necessarily have a mind to make something radically new.
‘We looked around and said, “Nobody’s making the bourbon that reminds us of why we fell in love with bourbon”,’ says Bowie of the origins of Potter Jane. ‘Denny says all the time that we’re not doing anything you’ve not seen before, we’re probably just doing things you haven’t seen in a while.’
Bowie and Potter spent a year painstakingly designing their Springfield distillery to the specifications of how they think they’ll create their own style of bourbon. Low-temperature fermentations, a roller mill for their grains and copper doubler pot still alongside its column are just a few of the levers they’ve been pulling to create their new make.
Inside Castle & Key Distillery
Revivals and experiments
Other distilleries looking both to the past as well as the future are Peerless Distillery, which was revived in its current guise in 2014 but has a 150-year-old legacy. It adheres to the sweet mash – rather than the common sour mash – method.
The Old Taylor Distillery, was founded in 1887 and rocketed out of dereliction in 2014 to become Castle & Key. Here rye and bourbon are being made using precision-sourced grains and extensive vatting processes
Meanwhile Bardstown Bourbon Company – also founded in 2014 – works on a staggering number of mash bills, collaborating with other producers and offering customisable production techniques.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series
A bright future
What we will see coming out of Kentucky in the next 10 years – from distilleries both old and new – is set to be exciting, to say the least. At the very heart of this new-wave movement is producers who have something to say.
Star Hill Farm’s Master Distiller and head of innovation, Dr Blake Layfield, sees the new step for Maker’s Mark as having a greater message. ‘Grains matter, varietals matter, terroir matters, farming practices matter.’
It’s something that Bowie remembers as being a driving force at the genesis of Potter Jane: ‘We looked at each other and said, ‘If we don’t have a point of view, we should just shut up and stay where we are.” The last thing the world needs is another bottle of bourbon that doesn’t serve a purpose.’
Six Kentucky whiskies to try
Bardstown Bourbon Company Double Barreled Rye
Part of Bardstown’s Origin Series, this straight rye from the behemoth distillery is made up of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, aged for six years and finished in hybrid casks made up of cherry wood and oak. There is greenness from dill, white flower florality and richness from ripe cherries and spice. Alc 48%
Bomberger’s Declaration PFG Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Standing for Precision Fine Grain, this 2025 whiskey from the brilliant Michter’s is its first exploration of taking its fully matured bourbon and placing it in custom toasted and charred French fine grain oak barrels. The deep colour of this whiskey belies the florality that is matched with spice, dark chocolate and rich red fruits. Alc 50.1%
Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farm
Made using predominantly soft red winter wheat, this whiskey from the historic distillery is an evolution of its traditional recipe and, thankfully, it tastes absolutely exquisite. Think warm cherry pie, crumbly pastry, a dusting of baking spices, plus roasted pecan and macadamia nuts. One for sharing with American whiskey pessimists – it will convert even the staunchest. Alc 57.4%
New Riff Straight Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond
This high-rye bourbon from the trailblazers at New Riff has been bottled-in-bond and aged in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels for four years. The resulting whiskey is unmistakable butterscotch in character, with tell-tale rye spice, dark red fruits and a refreshing mint character on the finish. Alc 50%
Peerless Double Oak Rye
Twice barreled in new charred American oak, this rich rye has had the benefit of extracting flavour from wood two times around. Presented in the distinctive Peerless stubby bottle, the resulting whiskey is moody and punchy with notes of slightly smoky tobacco, dark chocolate and the distinctive herbal notes that Peerless balances so deftly. Alc 54.6%
Pinhook Straight Bourbon
Pinhook’s focus is to create bourbons with a new and refreshing approach. It works with a blended vintage technique and its flagship straight bourbon brings bright tropical fruits and sweet runny honey on the nose, with spice, candied nuts and sweet breads on the palate. Alc 47.5%
