Maker’s Mark to build ‘cave’ for 46 whiskey

Maker’s Mark is considering building a maturation “cave” at its distillery in Loretto, Kentucky as part of its US$67m expansion, to enable the year-round production of Maker’s 46.

Beam Suntory is to enable year-round maturation of Maker’s 46 with the build of a bespoke “cave”

The Beam Suntory-owned distillery is currently undergoing extensive construction work to increase its capacity, following a much publicised stock shortage.

While Maker’s announced in 2014 its intentions to install a third still and 24 additional fermentation tanks to double its annual production capacity to three million cases, the distillery has now also revealed potential plans for a maturation cave.

The cave will be situated onsite, and used exclusively for the production of Maker’s 46, the super-premium brand extension launched in 2010.

The expression, which is finished for around 100 days in special barrels containing 10 French oak barrel staves, can presently only be matured during the cooler winter months to avoid too much wood influence.

The new cave will maintain a regular temperature of 56°F year-round, giving the distillery an opportunity to increase availability of Maker’s 46, which currently sells around 75,000 cases a year.

Maker’s 46 is bottled at 47% abv, and carries an RRP of US$45.