Maker's Mark Distillery Tours & Info

A tour guide's tips, reviews, FAQs, and more!

About Maker's Mark Distillery Tours

When you ask our owner what his favorite bourbon tour is, he will always tell you it’s the Maker’s Mark tour. Any tour offered on the Maker's property is highly-curated and offers something you can't get anywhere else. There are potentially a hundred people touring here on a busy day so it can be a little crowded at times. But, it's also a place that should be on any bourbon lover's bucket list. This place is also wildly historic, innovative, and close to our personal origin story!

Our team loves to visit Maker's Mark for a tour, for lunch, to grab a cocktail, and to hand-dip bottles in wax. And we are always excited about taking guests here to do the same! We rarely hear that the Maker’s Mark tour wasn’t the favorite tour of the day when our guests are visiting the Bardstown region.

We offer visits to Maker's Mark on any of our Bardstown area pick-3 and transportation packages, Please see our website for details and options!

A Brief History

Maker's Mark Distillery

Maker’s Mark sits on the property that was home to one of the oldest distilleries in America. In the early 1800’s, a Kentucky settler family, the Burks, moved to present-day Loretto along Hardin Creek. The property grew to have a working farm, multiple outbuildings, and, importantly, a gristmill. The family started making whiskey on their property, as many settlers/farmers did and eventually grew their distilling operation to a full-sized distillery. In the early 1900s Burk’s Spring Distilling Co. was formally founded and produced whiskey until Prohibition.

A Brief History

The Samuels Connection

After changing hands several times, the distillery went under and went up for sale in 1951. Prior to that, not too far from this distillery, the Great Grandfather of Maker’s Mark’s founder Bill Sr. owned a distillery donned with his family name, the T.W Samuels Distillery. Bill Sr. (Maker’s Mark Founder) was involved with tnis distillery, which is where his dreams of having his own distillery likely took root. In 1953, about a decade after leaving T.W Samuels, Bill Sr. purchased the Burks (old Gristmill) Distillery to once again try his hand at the family business.

A Brief History

A New Recipe

Maker’s Mark tells this story much better than we do, so be sure to take their tour and save some questions for the Maker’s team! Anyway, it is said that Bill Sr. tried using his family recipe for bourbon when he fired up his still, but it was quite awful. And that’s when he started experimenting with wheat and a variety of grains to find the mash-bill that would later become his legacy brand, Maker’s Mark. With the artistic touch from his wife, Margie, the two perfected the product’s presentation, packaging, taste, and signature red wax.

A Brief History

The Present-Day

If you visit the property today, you'll find homages to Bill Sr., Margie, and the Burks throughout the grounds. You'll also learn about the legacies of Bill Jr. and later Rob Samuels, who later had their own impacts on the Maker's brand. Over the past decade, the distillery has received an update with renovations to the grounds, gift shop, and visitor's center. And in the current era, you'll find many colorful art installations throughout the property. You might also notice, that there's a huge emphasis on water conservation, sustainable farming, and agriculture at Maker’s Mark and Starhill Farms so its whiskey can be enjoyed for generations to come.

** Please note, we try to keep these descriptions vague. If we told you everything, why would you come for yourself?! We encourage you to do a Maker's Trace tour on your own and save some questions for the staff once there. **

Maker's Mark Distillery Tour Options

The most popular tour is the flagship tour, the “Maker’s Mark Tour.” There are other options such as a walking tour, farm tours, and special events, so there is a little something for everyone! You will see new offerings added fairly frequently, so even if you’ve done a Maker’s Mark tour before, it’s worth checking to see what’s new.

The Maker’s Mark Tour

This is the company’s flagship tour that runs every day the Maker’s campus is open. On this tour, you will learn about Maker’s Mark’s origins while visiting several key buildings on the property. You’ll hear the founder’s story, which is a story of innovation, women in bourbon, and more!

The Walking Tour

This one of course, has more walking and covers more ground than the standard tour. On this sip-and-stroll tour, you will spend a majority of your time outdoors exploring the Maker’s property while learning about many of the environmental and sustainability initiatives that are happening.

Premium Tours

These tours have a few different names and the dates and frequency are limited. On a Maker’s Premium tour, you’ll often take a deeper dive into products and production, or the people behind the scenes. You’ll see an occasional public VIP experience here as well.

Specialty Tours

Maker’s Mark is always adding something new, so whether you’re into Yoga, farming, art, horticulture, or really anything, be sure to check the offerings on the website, as there is likely something here for you. You may also see an occasional product release or seasonal tour in this category!

Maker's Mark Tour FAQs & Additional Info

Can I visit Maker’s Mark without a tour?

Yes you can! While the Maker’s Mark Distillery tour is a must-do for every bourbon lover, there may be reasons why you cannot do one. This may include availability, scheduling, or personal reasons. If you don’t get a chance to tour, you can visit the bar or gift shop where you can grab a cocktail or dip your own bottle in the Maker’s signature red wax! Just be mindful of those who are touring and stay on the designated paths.

What is the bottle dipping process?

At the end of the Maker’s Distillery tour, you will finish at the gift shop where there are a variety of bottles available for purchase. From there, you will line up to dip your bottle in one of the dipping stations with a member of the Maker’s team! This is a one-of-a-kind experience that makes for great gifts, keepsakes, and photo opportunities.

How to get a tour at Maker’s Mark

The tours and available time slots are always up-to-date on the Maker’s website, which is where you can book a tour. Maker’s will take walk-ins, but on busy days, you will often find them at capacity. While we are subject to what is available on the Maker’s website too, we do offer Maker’s Tours as part of our pick-3 and transportation only options. Please reach out if you are interested in us putting a tour day together for you!

Is there food at Maker’s Mark?

Yep! This year, the restaurant should be back open for lunch sometime in the spring after being closed for repairs. You will also find baked goods available for purchase at the bar occasionally. Lately there have been sandwiches and soup at the bar in the offseason while the restaurant is closed. Keep in mind, the restaurant is a seasonal thing with limited hours and space, so be sure to check with the staff or check the hours before making concrete plans here with your group.

Is Maker’s Mark near any other distilleries?

Yep! Maker's is in the southern-Bardstown region. In that region, you will find Log Still Distillery and Limestone Branch each about 15 minutes from Maker’s. Sometime in 2025, the Jefferson’s distillery will also open in the area, too. The Maker’s distillery is about 25-30 minutes from Bardstown itself, where you’ll find a wide variety of whiskey and distillery experiences.

Need Transportation for Your Trip?

We would love to be your guides! Maker's Mark Tours and visits are part of our Bardstown-area pick-3 tour and transportation packages. See our website for all pricing and options, or reach out!

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