Making a party for bourbon ambassadors Maker's Mark annual reunion mixes spirits, horse racing
By Bruce Schreiner The Associated Press
LEXINGTON - Tony Koenig didn't draw any special attention with his black top hat partially coated with red wax. Among devotees of Maker's Mark bourbon whiskey, it seemed quite fashionable.
Koenig joined thousands of Maker's Mark "ambassadors" at Keeneland race track for a yearly reunion Friday mixing two Kentucky staples - bourbon and horse racing - as the bourbon maker reconnected with its most loyal customers.
For Maker's Mark, it was a return to its roots, since the brand known for its distinctive red wax seal was built partly by word of mouth.
The master of ceremonies at the two-day event was Maker's Mark President Bill Samuels Jr., whose father started the brand 51 years ago.
"It's just a cocktail party, with some horse racing interspersed," said Samuels, sporting a red hat and red shirt and vest for the occasion.
Maker's Mark expected several thousand for the springtime ritual. Among those attending were politicians and business executives, as well as ordinary Maker's fans - all picking up their own expenses for gathering. The brand's ambassadors even include several real-life U.S. ambassadors who stock their embassies with Maker's.
The brand ambassadors attended a day of racing Friday at Keeneland, which included the Maker's Mark Mile as the feature race, followed by a nighttime party in downtown Lexington where Maker's was sure to flow.
Today, the devotees will gather at Maker's picturesque distillery near Loretto, about 70 miles southwest of Lexington, for tours, plenty of food and bluegrass music. The ambassadors will dip their own whiskey bottles in red wax.
The event kicked off with Samuels signing hundreds of silver commemorative bottles of Maker's featuring Affirmed, the last horse to win thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. It was the last of a three-bottle Triple Crown series that also featured Secretariat and Seattle Slew. The line formed overnight at Keeneland as people waited for hours for signatures by Samuels and Steve Cauthen, who rode Affirmed.
Proceeds from the special bottle sales help support a retraining center for retired race horses, to help find them homes.
Koenig didn't seem to mind the long wait to get his bottles signed. Fans passed the time in part by watching horses work out at Keeneland.
"These are festive and fun days," said Koenig, who made the short trip from Louisville. "This time of year is exciting around Kentucky."
Jerry Ustaitis had traveled all the way from Massachusetts and was getting his first look at the bluegrass state.
"We're having a great time," said Ustaitis, who receives a bottle of Maker's every Christmas from his wife.
Gregg McCreary of Lexington, who was standing right behind Ustaitis, said "they've been introduced to Southern hospitality."
Besides the laughs and partying, the ambassadors play an important role by spreading word about Maker's, said Samuels, a seventh-generation bourbon maker whose ancestors made whiskey for George Washington's army.
"You can't hardly go in a watering hole and not find a bottle of Maker's, and that is because of the ambassadors," Samuels said. "They have absolutely driven distribution into all their favorite watering holes in the country."
Dave Pickerell, master distiller at Maker's Mark, said that as he mingled among ambassadors, he was treated like a celebrity.
"It's amazing how many people call me by name, shake hands and wave, and say 'Hi, how ya' doin.' And it's all Maker's," he said.
Samuels said the celebrity was quite a change from Maker's humble early days, when the brand didn't go beyond Kentucky. Now bars and restaurants worldwide stock Maker's. Samuels' father, Bill Samuels Sr., died in 1991, just as Maker's was becoming a national
"I wish my daddy were here because he did all the heavy lifting," he said.