Maker's Mark and their iconic wax seal

You can’t talk about the Maker’s Mark infamous wax seal and not first talk about Margie Samuels. According to bourbon folklore Margie dipped the first bottle into red wax melted in her kitchen fryer.

Australia's first Marker's Mark Diplomat, Rhianna Lucas, says, "The wax symbolises how distinct Maker’s Mark is, with each bottle being slightly different."

Margie not only conceived of the bottle’s wax seal, but also its form. Both are said to be inspired by her collection of vintage cognac bottles. While that might seem simple enough, the strategy behind the final product was groundbreaking.

Back in 1953, when Margie’s husband, Samuel, was crafting Maker's Mark, bourbon was considered more like moonshine rather than a fine spirit. He was determined to distill a drink that, as he put it, wouldn’t “blow his ears off.” The couple simultaneously elevated bourbon while making it more accessible and easy-drinking, setting the foundations for what would become one of the biggest spirit brands in the world.

"Every single bottle of Maker’s Mark is still hand-dipped at the distillery, just the way our founder Margie Samuels intended," says Rhianna. "It was her vision and creativity that cemented our iconic style."

This means production is slower than a typical distillery—about 125 bottles per minute versus 200 - 400. It’s a pace the brand wholly embraces and has no plans to change, “There’s an old joke around the distillery that says, 'if we could make it any faster, we wouldn’t'," laughs Rhianna. "We take things one bottle at a time. It wouldn’t be Maker’s Mark if we did it any other way."