Earlier this year, B.H. was among a small cohort of content creators, journalists and whisky collectors invited to the birthplace of Maker’s Mark – to learn all about the brand’s new Star Hill Farm whisky.
The wheat-centric bottling, and Maker’s Mark’s first new standalone brand in over 70 years, is making its debut on Australian shores this year. At a glance, it embodies the same ‘perfectly unreasonable’ philosophy of quality you’ll taste in the iconic red-wax bottle. Yet it’s also what Star Hill Farm whisky represents that makes it such an influential milestone for Maker’s Mark – and the American spirits industry as a whole.
RELATED: Where Flavour Grows – Experiencing Star Hill Farm, The Home Of Maker’s Mark Whisky
‘Nature As The Maker’
An annual edition from Maker’s Mark, the genesis of Star Hill Farm was to craft a premium non-Bourbon whisky telling the story of the land around the brand’s idyllic Kentuckian property.
By 2030, all of the wheat and barley used in its production will originate from local farms with Regenified™ certification – a commitment to regenerative agriculture that also ensures no two editions of Star Hill Farm whisky are ever alike.
In order to obtain ‘Regenified’ verification (a title held by Maker’s Mark and currently 86 percent of its farming suppliers), companies have to prove they’re committed to “restoring and revitalising” the soil at the heart of their business, in accordance with a scientifically backed third-party standard.
It’s a responsibility that the Samuels clan – 8th-generation founders of Maker’s Mark – have taken seriously, going all the way back to the ‘50s. But under the leadership of Rob Samuels, the brand’s Managing Director, that ancestral passion for being “good stewards of the land”, has evolved into a frontier for exploring purer flavour.
Elimination of artificial pesticides; use of nutrient-rich cover crops; controlled animal grazing: these are all measures that make the grain in this new release more delicious right from the beginning. Before Samuels and his team begin the process of fermenting, distilling, maturing and blending.
“While we’ve been relentless in our pursuit of crafting the most flavourful bourbon,” says Samuels, “we’ve learned that maximising flavour starts with the soil.” Beyond Star Hill Farm’s unique branding and production process, he also feels there was an opportunity to “[let] nature take the lead, rather than the other way around”.
Wine enthusiasts will recognise how such an approach aligns with established principles in the field of biodynamic viticulture. Sure, the trade-off for capturing every little natural nuance is consistency. But at Maker’s Mark, the prospect’s rarity is its own incentive – signalling a shift away from the stave-heavy finishing techniques the brand traditionally employs in order to amplify flavour.
A Brand New Story – Of Flavour & Identity
At a glance, the Star Hill Farm packaging is also a big break with tradition. Closer in shape and proportion to a wine bottle (complete with a 20mm punt in its base), you’ll find numerous references to the eponymous distillery itself cleverly incorporated all over this release.
Paper labels – bearing the release’s motto of ‘Nature as the maker’ – are made out of recycled wheat fibres, and waste generated during the production of classic Maker’s Mark packaging. Instead of the brand’s distinctive red wax top, every bottle of Star Hill Farm gets a polished marble-esque stopper: made out of agglomerated cork, and evoking the look of the limestone lake from which Maker’s Mark sources its water.
Distinctive packaging demands a distinctive flavour. On the latter front, Star Hill Farm is a different proposition to what most bourbon drinkers may be used to – though still with plenty in the way of richness and complexity. Unlike the many bottles of Maker’s Mark, it cannot lawfully be categorised as bourbon, due to the complete absence of corn (much less the 51% proportion required by US federal law).
This, according to Samuels, allows the distillery team to “shine a light on [Maker’s Mark’s] signature soft red winter wheat”: the grain varietal most instrumental in adding texture and a sensation of creaminess to all of the brand’s core whiskies.
Still paying attention? Good, because this is where things get properly funky.
The 2025 release of Star Hill Farm is technically a blend of whiskies, made to two different mashbills. The first of these mostly consists of the aforementioned red winter wheat (70%) along with malted barley (30%) that is an important element in the fermentation and distillation processes. In contrast, the second mashbill is 100 percent red winter wheat. Only this time, all of that grain is malted – deepening and rounding out the flavours of the primary mashbill.
Time in cask varies between 7-8 years: as always, at Maker’s Mark, on a ‘taste by taste’ basis. The result is an extremely ‘hot’ whisky, bottled at 57% ABV, that will delight the palate of seasoned spirits drinkers: think silky mouthfeel and a long, reverberating finish.
What’s most exciting is just how much of the grain distillate you’ll actually taste – a breath of fresh air in an industry defined by its reliance on oak casks for personality. The choice to malt the fully wheat mashbill introduces shades of cinnamon and red stone fruit into the glass.
In tandem with the more typical flavours of American grain whisky – caramel, chunk chocolate, and dried citrus – this makes Star Hill Farm into a compelling addition to the Maker’s Mark range of high-proof sippers. Thanks to the ever-changing mashbill, soon to be the most collectible too.
Star Hill Farm Whisky is now available for $380, at Dan Murphy’s, Skull & Barrel and other specialty retailers of American whisky.
This article is presented in partnership with Maker’s Mark. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
