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Top 10 U.S. Whisky Brand Advocates for Regenerative Agriculture
I have known about Maker's Mark bourbon for many years. Based in Loretto, Kentucky, Maker's Mark (now owned by spirits industry giant Beam Suntory) has been one of the nation's leading adult beverage brands for decades.
While most bourbons use rye to supplement the corn that makes bourbon bourbon — giving the product a spicy finish — Maker's Mark uses wheat for a smoother quaff. Its signature bottling is also a relatively low 85 proof. I've often described it as the whisky (their spelling) to offer people who say they don't like whiskey.
As a whiskey aficionado with a preference for high-rye bourbon, I haven't bought much Maker's over the years. But after learning about the distillery's extraordinary commitment to sustainable agriculture, I can't imagine not having a bottle of Maker's Mark in the house.
I first got a sense for this last year when Maker's Mark emerged as a prominent partner with the producers of the Common Ground documentary about regenerative agriculture. I learned more when I attended a regenerative agriculture discussion — held at The Henry Ford non-profit in Dearborn, Michigan in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative — in which representatives of Maker's Mark also participated.
When I received an invitation to attend The Henry Ford's September 16 Carver-Carson Dinner, at which Maker's Mark would receive the organization's annual award, I decided to make a rare day trip out of town. And what I learned that evening turned me into a born-again Maker's Mark fan.
In the photo above, Maker's Mark Chief Operating Officer Rob Samuels received the award (named for pioneering Black scientist George Washington Carver and environmentalist Rachel Carson) from Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford. Looking on are Bill Samuels Jr. (center), Maker's Mark's chairman emeritus and Rob's father, and Brian Mattingly, who manages the distillery's regenerative Star Hill Farm.
Rob appeared in a video played for the attendees. It was eye opening to learn that 86 percent of the grain used in Maker's Mark bourbons is produced using regenerative practices — with a goal of 100 percent by the end of 2025. Its farm rotates crops and integrates livestock grazing in its efforts to improve its soil health.
As a result, the distillery has earned a prestigious Regenerative Tier 3 designation from Regenified, a third-party certifier. It is a signatory to the campaign launched by the Common Ground producers to bring regenerative practices to 100 million acres of U.S. farmland. Maker's Mark is also a Certified B-Corp, a designation that requires companies to meet high social and environmental standards.
Rob explained that most distillers distinguish themselves by their production techniques, but Maker's Mark focuses greatly on the natural ingredients that go into its products.
"Whiskey comes from nature, and once we started thinking differently about the flavor potential from nature, very quickly we get to the ethics of it all," he said. "If you think about bourbon as an agricultural product, it's nature, distilled. So if we're not good stewards of our land, maintaining these healthy ecosystems, we're not going to be down here in 200 years time making whiskey."
Rob is a true believer in regenerative agriculture, which he describes not as a preference but an imperative to ensure the sustainability of agriculture. "We already have predicted what the future holds if we continue down the path of conventional agriculture," he said. "Just mathematically with the rate of desertification globally and soil depletion, we're not going to be able to feed society in less than 60 years, there's going to be a huge problem. So we have really no choice but to change what we're doing."
He continued, "Not only is it a fact that regenerative agriculture improves soil health, improves profitability for farmers, improves the the nutritional depths [to address] the food health issues that we have, but we also know it's the only means to rebuild soil faster than we lost it."
After the video, Rob gave a short talk to the attendees that ended on a decidely upbeat note...
... A tasting of three of the distillery's bourbon expressions, its flagship whisky, its Maker's Mark No. 46, and a superb private selection made especially for The Henry Ford's Carver-Carson Dinner.
The program — which took place at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation under the pavilion that once housed the Detroit Central Market — then gave way to a strolling dinner in which attendees selected samples from Detroit-area restaurants made with locally grown ingredients.
The participants were Thyme & Honey, Nepantla, Nu Deli, Leña—Detroit, Khana, Fried Chicken and Caviar, Queen Kitc, Detroit Institute of Gastronomy, and The Henry Ford Culinary Team.
Here's what some of those goodies looked like.
And, finally, local farms participated in the event.
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