Maker’s Mark adds new rinse process
Maker’s Mark plans to rinse its bourbon barrels to get as much liquor out of them as possible in an effort to keep up with demand for its whiskey.
The “state-of-the-art rinse process” would be part of a plan for $8.2 million in upgrades at its Loretto, Ky., distillery.
The move comes less than four months after Maker’s Mark announced a plan to add more water to the bourbon — decreasing its alcohol content, but stretching supply to meet demand worldwide. The company quickly backed off the plan after a backlash.
Maker’s Mark now plans to “extract additional gallons” from its barreled bourbon with the process, according to documents filed with Kentucky economic development officials to get tax credits for the upgrades. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority on Thursday offered Maker’s Mark $100,000 in rebates on construction materials and building fixtures.
Maker’s Mark owner Beam has already developed a process to extract “the rich whiskey trapped inside the barrels’ wood after they’re emptied,” according to Beam’s description of Devil’s Cut, a bourbon that it makes using the extracted liquor.
With the years required to age bourbon, distillers have to predict the market far in advance. Buffalo Trace, the Frank- fort, Ky.-based maker of Blanton’s, Buffalo Trace and Pappy Van Winkle, said its supply isn’t keeping pace with demand. Rather than take any extraordinary measures, the company said its supplies would simply be tighter. Buffalo Trace bourbons are aged from eight to 23 years.
Maker’s Mark, which ages its bourbon at least five years and nine months, also plans a new 50,000-barrel aging warehouse. According to the state, production of Maker’s Mark has increased 10 percent a year for the past 20 years, and “sales volume is expected to grow significantly.”