Maker’s Mark has announced the launch of Star Hill Farm Whiskey, a new wheat whiskey that shifts the spotlight away from its classic wheated bourbon to fully embrace the influence of soft red winter wheat—a grain that has been central to the distillery’s DNA since its founding in 1953.
The release marks the beginning of an independent brand rooted in the Star Hill Farm estate in Loretto, Kentucky, where Maker’s has long sourced ingredients for its whiskey. While the brand has previously expanded through expressions like Maker’s 46, the Wood Finishing Series, and Cellar Aged, Star Hill Farm Whiskey represents a notable departure, both in style and intent.
The whiskey is a blend of two mashbills: one made up of 70% soft red winter wheat and 30% malted barley, and the other consisting of 100% malted wheat. These were matured in five types of oak casks—though the distillery has kept specific barrel types under wraps—and married for 30 days before bottling at 57.35% ABV. It is offered at a suggested retail price of $100.
The project dates back to 2016, when Maker’s Mark Managing Director Rob Samuels began exploring ways to deepen the connection between the distillery’s grains and the land they grow on. Star Hill Farm, a 1,100-acre estate, now dedicates 300 acres to wheat and barley, with the goal of eventually producing all grains in-house.
The inaugural release uses grain sourced from local partner farms within a 60-mile radius. However, Star Hill Farm aims to produce whiskey made entirely from its own estate-grown grain. As a sign of that ambition, this bottling is the first whiskey in the world to carry the Estate Whiskey Alliance (EWA) designation. Maker’s Mark was a founding member of the EWA, a group launched in 2024 that requires members to distill on-site and source at least two-thirds of their grain from land they own or control.
Master Distiller Dr. Blake Layfield and Lead Blender Beth Buckner are leading the new label’s development. According to Layfield, Star Hill Farm Whiskey will evolve annually, with each release reflecting a “vintage” mindset. Unlike Maker’s Mark, which remains consistent by design, Star Hill Farm is intended to explore the full potential of wheat’s influence on flavor, with the whiskey’s profile shifting from year to year.
The 2025 release is said to be roughly comparable in volume to Maker’s Cellar Aged, and while it is still limited, there are long-term plans for growth—dependent on how quickly the estate can expand its grain output.
