The Maker's Mark Story: From Dream to Major Brand in Two Generations

By Joel Whitaker

A long-time businessman and business journalist, Joel Whitaker has created a memorable tale of an American family entrepreneurship at its best that flows along at a good clip and with elegant simplicity, with plenty of delightful drolleries along the way. Readers will discover the secret behind Maker's Mark's success and what they will see if they visit the distillery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joel Whitaker
• Release date: Sep 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9780940195035

Joel Whitaker

Joel Whitaker was an experienced prize-winning newsman when he acquired “Frank Kane’s Weekly Letter.” He had been editor of the world’s oldest high school daily and editor in chief of the Indiana Daily Student. After graduating from Indiana University, he went to work at the St. Petersburg Times as a reporter, and later as an editor responsible for national news coverage. In 1968, the same year Frank Kane died, he moved to New York as an editor at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote the Page One news summary. In 1973, he was hired as business news editor at the Philadelphia Bulletin, then the nation’s second-largest newspaper with a circulation exceeding 625,000. While in Philadelphia, Whitaker graduated from Temple University School of Law. After taking his bar exam, he joined the staff of Institutional Investor as managing editor of Bank Letter. He bought “Frank Kane’s Weekly Letter” in 1982, and has been writing it ever since. Over the past quarter century, he has broken a number of important stories. He beat all other reporters, including those at The Wall Street Journal, with the news the federal government would raise the federal excise tax on beer, wine and distilled spirits. He warned of the impact Mothers Against Drunk Driving would have on the alcohol beverage industry. At a time when many industry leaders believed the alcohol beverage business was threatened with death, Whitaker accurately predicted the “French Paradox” would change the image of beer, wine and spirits to products which, when consumed in moderation, actually promote human health. And he was the first reporter to detail a pharmaceutical breakthrough – the development of a drug that has the potential for ending alcohol abuse, a drug that reduces the craving for alcohol experienced by alcoholics. His reporting has been honored by the University of Missouri, New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Newsletter Publishers Association (now the Specialized Information Publishers Association.) He was Council President in Fanwood, NJ, a director and treasurer of the Newsletter Publishers Association and the Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Foundation. He’s a member of the National Press Club, whee he was Secretary for three years, and the Society of Professional Journalists. Under Whitaker, Frank Kane’s Weekly Letter was renamed “Kane’s Beverage Week.” In 2005, in response to requests for daily news updates, Whitaker launched “Beverage News Daily.” Today, top beverage executives have a summary of the most important news affecting the industry -- including regulatory, financial, social policy and marketing developments -- on their desks by 8:30 a.m. nearly every business day.

Book preview

The Maker's Mark Story:

From Dream to Major Brand in Two Generations

By Joel Whitaker

rev. 1.0

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 by Joel Whitaker. All Rights Reserved

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Business/Entrepreneurship/

20130901.jw

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: When Mom Told Dad to Get a Job, Maker's Mark Was Born

Chapter 2: A Front Page Article in The Wall Street Journal Leads to Explosive Growth

Chapter 3: A New Brand

Chapter 4: How High Estate Taxes Led to New Owners

Chapter 5: How a Washington State Wine Lover and Chemist Came to Be in Charge of Production at Maker's Mark

Chapter 6: Catering to the National Appetite for Hard Drink

Chapter 7: Before There Was Maker's Mark, There Was Burks

Chapter 8: A Distillery Farm at the Turn of the 20th Century

Chapter 9: What You'll See at Maker's Mark Distillery

Chapter 10: Where to Stay, Where to Eat

Photos

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Also by Joel Whitaker

What Others Are Saying About The Maker's Mark Story

Joel Whitaker’s telling of the Samuels’ family story is a must read for lovers of American Whiskey and its history. He weaves a highly readable tale of one of the first families of Bourbon, whose exploits are now part of a global whiskey renaissance sweeping around the world. From the family’s humble beginnings in the heartland of Kentucky, we learn that they have placed their Mark on American whiskey history and helped change America’s and the world’s perception of Bourbon. Whitaker has produced a work that captures that dynamic for whiskey connoisseur and casual visitor alike.

– Dr. Peter H. Cressy, President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

"A wonderfully useful narrative about  creating a product and an internationally known brand, Maker's Mark whiskey, it's also a highly entertaining tour through colorful parts of American culture for the past two centuries: the Bourbon  business and the place where it is based -- Kentucky, of course.

-- Robert B. Whitcomb, retired editorial page editor, Providence Journal and author of Cape Wind.

Introduction

Although there are other books about Maker's Mark, this is the first written with a tourist in mind.

Distilling is tremendously important to Kentucky, and bourbon is especially so, since Kentucky produces 95% of the world's bourbon. More than 8,600 jobs in Kentucky are connected to the distilling industry, generating more than $413 million a year in payroll.

There are more

Reviews for The Maker's Mark Story

[Jared Friedman · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book so badly. I love business histories, particularly quirky ones about little-known businesses. This fit the bill perfectly.

Unfortunately it is just very poorly written. I'm sure the author meant well, but this is an example of why people look down on self-published works. It needs some serious editing.