The Barn Series- Day 4 - Maker's Mark

Every barn tells a story. This story began as Burks Distillery way back in 1953, in the tiny town of Loretto, Kentucky. However, in 1953 the story changed when a Kentucky gentleman, Bill Samuels, bought the distillery.

Five years and much ado later in 1958, the first run of bourbon was bottled at Maker's Mark Distillery, complete with the dipped red wax seal, and a star was born. Maker's Mark is a global brand renowned as one of the best bourbons bottled. Having visited Maker's Mark multiple times, I have to say the one thing I love, almost as much as the barrel laden vintage wagon that sits in the yard, has to be this stark black barn with its distinctive red shutters that lends a hand to the Maker's Mark brand.

The story doesn't end there though. My father, Joseph Mattingly, was born right up the road from Maker's Mark, before it even became the renowned distillery it is today. Furthermore, if you were to travel the back roads surrounding Loretto, Springfield or Bardstown, Kentucky, you couldn't throw a stone without hitting one of my ancestors.

As vintage barns go, the barn at Maker's Mark is definitely one of my favorites for obvious reasons. Seriously, one minute we were in the heart of the Bluegrass State and the 'Horse Capital of the World' and nary a minute later we are in the 'Bourbon Capital of the World' and we didn't leave the state of Kentucky. Amazing!

It's Day 4 of The Barn Series and we are still traveling in Kentucky. If thoroughbreds and horse barns didn't peak your interest, I hope this little splash of spirits from Maker's Mark did. Let's get back in the car and head on down the road. Hey, you suppose we'll make it out of Kentucky? ENJOY!

Linking to Metamorphosis Monday

Grounds at Maker's Mark, Loretto, Kentucky

A few weeks ago I spent a Saturday afternoon shopping in Bardstown at some of my favorite home decor shops. Then I drove the twenty minute drive to Maker's Mark. I hadn't been to the distillery in over ten years and I didn't have any of those old images. So, allow me to give you a quickie tour of this famed distillery . . .

As you make your way from the parking lot to the main grounds, you'll pass this old painted wagon filled with, what else, but bourbon barrels.


Next you'll walk over a bridge and please do notice the creek which I'm sure plays a big role in the 'making of this mark'.



Oh, look. Here we are at the distillery building where you can go in and take the tour. No, I've never done the tour, but perhaps one day.


As you make your way back to the parking lot, you'll pass this black and red painted barn which no doubt plays a role in the bourbon making process. Tomorrow, as it happens, is the last day for the annual Bourbon Festival that's been going on all week in and around Bardstown, Kentucky. There are bourbon enthusiasts from all over the globe visiting Louisville and Bardstown this week just to tour the many bourbon distilleries and participate in the festival. Have a fantastic weekend all. ENJOY!

Photographer's Note: Before I close this post, I wanted to share that at one time I played a role in the branding of Maker's Mark. Back in the beginning of my career in advertising, I worked for a major ad agency here in Louisville. I managed the typesetting department and typeset many a Maker's Mark ad and billboard. One holiday, Bill Samuels gave me a signed bottle of Maker's Mark, with my name printed on the label and the top was dipped in gold wax instead of red.

Barn Art!

As you drive to Harrison Crawford State Forest right off I-64 in southcentral Indiana, you'll find this Mail Pouch Barn sitting along the roadside. Also in the area is a great cave called Wyandotte Cave which isn't far from the forest itself. And, this is the same state forest where as you cross over the overpass at the entrance to the park, you will see the Green River below (I posted an image last week of canoers on the river). This was the second trip I'd made to the state forest in about two years and remembered the barn. The second time I drove by I turned around and stopped and took a few picks. It was such a beautiful day and the barn looked so gorgeous draped by all of the trees around it.

The second barn, See Rock City, actually sits about 500 yards from the entrance to Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, up on a small hill. I took quite a few images of the distillery one Sunday afternoon on my first visit to the distillery. And, I couldn't resist photographing the barn too.

I've posted the barn with the quilt on it in the past, but still felt it was appropriate today. It sits along the Bluegrass Scenic Byway between Midway and Lexington in Kentucky.

If you visit Kentucky, Southern Indiana and/or Tennessee, you will notice we're not lacking with barns reading Mail Pouch and See Rock City or Lookout Mountain on many a barn throughout the area. I don't know if you have them in your area, but there is also a collection of barns featuring various quilt patterns on the side of the barn. I actually came across a website for the folks that paint those images. Who knew the Mail Pouch would go to the wayside and quilt images would come into vogue.

What is it about barns that draw us in? I believe it's because they're older and warn from the weather. That leaves them with an air of character and who isn't drawn to character. And it doesn't hurt to have art on the barn either.

It's raining again this week here. Mother Nature needs to turn off the spigot, please. ENJOY!