Maker’s Mark has released the second edition of its Star Hill Farm Whisky (Maker’s Mark prefers to spell “whisky” without the “e”). The release coincident with Earth Day today is no accident. Star Hill Farm Whisky is Maker’s Mark’s testament to its commitment to the environment.

The first edition of the whiskey, released last year, was the very first Estate Whiskey Certified product. The Estate Whiskey Certified mark is offered by the Estate Whiskey Alliance, which promotes whiskey where all production—milling, cooking, fermenting and distilling—occurs on land owned by the distillery, from grains at least two-thirds of which are grown on land owned or controlled by the distillery.

The award-winning first release was the first whiskey released by Maker’s Mark using a different grist bill since the Loretto, Kentucky distillery started making whiskey over 70 years ago. But perhaps more importantly, Star Hill Farm Whisky releases are manifestations of an environmental and agricultural commitment the legendary distillery made years ago.

Can Maker’s Mark Whisky Improve The Earth?

Star Hill Farm Whisky earns its Estate Whiskey Certified mark by Maker’s Mark overseeing the farms on which the corn and wheat used in the whiskey are grown—all within about 70 miles of the distillery.

By overseeing these farms, Maker’s Mark is able to ensure the crops are grown using regenerative agricultural practices. Such practices go one step further than protecting the soil; they actually regenerate the soil by returning nutrients to it. While modern farming practices strip nutrients from the soil and then require exogenous nutrients—fertilizer—added to the soil for it to continue to produce crops, regenerative farming practices return nutrients and microbial life to the soil. The soil not only produces better crops, but it creates a biosphere for microbes and worms and other life. Advocates insist crops are more flavorful.

Such regenerative practices can be certified. Regenified is one organization providing such certification. For a whiskey to be Regenified certified, 75% of the grains used to make it must be Regenified certified. While Star Hill Farm Whisky does exceed this limit, the ultimate goal is 100%, not just for Star Hill Farm Whisky, but for Maker’s Mark main brand of bourbon as well.

“We started our Regenified journey in 2016 with the development of Star Hill Farm Whisky,” said Blake Layfied, master distiller at Maker’s Mark, by video interview. “We asked ourselves, ‘How do we showcase the flavors of the land in liquid form?’”

“We started asking ourselves where flavor comes from,” said Layfield. “We asked questions about grain variety, soil conditions and terroir.”

Maker’s Mark began working with its farmers—all of the corn and wheat used in Maker’s Mark whiskey is grown under Maker’s Mark’s supervision—to adopt regenerative practices.

“We went from working with 26 growers to ten,” said Val Netherton, director of sustainability and higher purpose at Maker’s Mark, by video call. “We are funding their soil regeneration programs. Maker’s Mark is funding this because there isn’t much other market demand for Regenified certified grains yet. The farmers are growing these grains for us, so we are carrying those costs.”

Destination 2030

Thanks to the regenerative agricultural experiments begun in 2016, by November 2023, Maker’s Mark was able to have the new make spirit used to make Maker’s Mark bourbon as Regenified certified. Since Maker’s Mark Whisky typically takes seven years of maturation before bottling, the goal is to have all Maker’s Mark Whisky Regenified certified beginning in late 2030.

“We age to taste,” said Layfield. “We bottle when the whiskey is ready. That is a minimum of seven years, but the whiskey will be ready when its ready.”

This goal to have all Maker’s Mark Whisky Regenified certified applies to all whiskey made by the distillery, not just the Star Hill Farm Whisky label.

Destination 100%

The only grain used in making Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whisky that is not yet Regenified certified is the barley, comprising 14% of the whiskey’s grain bill. Malting barley does not grow well in the region around the Loretto distillery, so it must be sourced from third parties.

These third parties make malting barley from raw grain sourced from many farmers and it is malted for many manufacturers, both distilleries and beer breweries. Having this malt certified requires the maltsters to segregate the source grain and the resulting malt. And because the needs of distilleries are different from the needs of breweries, it requires convincing the maltsters that making a Regenified certified distillers malt just for Maker’s Malt is worth it.

“Barley is a specialty crop,” explained Layfield. “And what distillers want from the barley is different from what brewers want. So the product we want is a niche within a niche.”

But while Maker’s Mark has not found the perfect Regenified certified malted barley yet, there have been experiments and it is the ultimate goal of the distillery to have 100% of the grains used in making Maker’s Mark Whisky certified as grown according to regenerative agricultural practices.

The Future Is Flavor

“Our goal is to push the boundary of flavor,” said Layfield.

“We want to celebrate nature as the maker,” added Netherton.

Both Layfield and Netherton believe that grain grown in healthy soil tastes better. While modern agricultural practices were highly successful in improving yield and efficiency, that came at the expense of flavor. So, the use of regenerative agricultural practices is not just good for the soil. It should produce better whiskey.

Maker’s Mark was founded in 1953 by Bill Samuels, Sr. and Margie Samuels. “They wanted to make a bourbon they could be proud to share with their friends,” said Netherton. But even as Maker’s Mark continued to use the same grain bill and brewing and distilling equipment to maintain that taste vision, over the next seven decades, agriculture changed and so the flavor of whisky has slowly drifted.

By returning to regenerative agricultural practices, Maker’s Mark is making whiskey more true to the original 1953 whiskey enjoyed by the Samuels. Restoring the soil through regenerative agricultural practices can return grains and the resulting whiskey to its original form.

“We continue to improve the land to make better whiskey,” said Layfield. “We are hopeful we haven’t tasted the best Maker’s Mark yet.”