Star Hill Provisions Opens at Maker's Mark
It’s still the start of a new era at Maker’s Mark in Loretto, Kentucky.
The distillery is opening Star Hill Provisions, a fast-casual restaurant, which represents the first time the bourbon producer has ever been allowed to serve cocktails on premises.
Yes, counterintuitive as it seems, in the nearly 60 years since Maker's Mark sold its first bottle, the distiller has never been able to provide guests with cocktails because of longstanding legal stipulations preventing the sale of alcohol by the glass. For decades, regulations have specified that distilleries could only serve 1 oz samples and sell bottles of bourbon, but larger pours and mixed drinks were restricted. Up until last year, that is, when a bill passed through the Kentucky Senate changing up some of those antiquated rules (the volume of a tasting sample also increased to 1.75 oz, as did the number of bottles a visitor is allowed to buy.) It's taken some time to set up, but now the whiskey producers of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail are finally able to show off their wares on-location, with handcrafted tipples.
But why stop at drinks, thought Maker's Mark chairman emeritus Bill Samuels, Jr. and his son, COO Rob Samuels. Along with chef (and local boy) Newman Miller, they set about transforming the grounds' historic Distiller's House into the newly opened Star Hill Provisions. Named for the original tract of land where the family's ancestor T.W. Samuels began his first (by all accounts unimpressive) forays into distillation, the kitchen serves a rotating menu of farm-to-table dishes inspired by local favorites like the Benedictine sandwich, tangy-hot pork ribs, and an adaptation of the classic Kentucky Hot Brown (with added country ham, because why not) as well as more esoteric offerings.
At the pre-opening press event, for example, the chef provided wagyu tartare with walnuts and a chilled egg custard of housemade beer cheese topped with arugula and charred onion. To pair with the food, they'll be serving a highly curated menu of bourbon-based sips: an Old Fashioned, a take on ye olde whiskey-and-Coke featuring local cold brew coffee and Mexican Coke, an aptly named House Cocktail featuring Ale-8-One, a Kentucky favorite ginger-and-citrus soda, and a boozy, bitters-topped slushie that's just begging for a summer afternoon on the porch.
Though the location is starting small - it's currently only open for lunch, Wednesday through Sunday - there are plans for a major expansion to add more seating and more hours, including possible dinner service. In the meantime, bourbon fans will have to make do with the afternoon hours, tastings, tours, the sweet smells of bourbon and yeast wafting over the grounds. It may not be the classic scent of spring, but we'll take it any day.
House Cocktail
Recipe:
1.5 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 tsp fresh lemon Juice
4 oz Kentucky Ale-8-One (if unavailable, substitute your favorite ginger ale)
8 dashes Angostura bitters
Directions:
Build all of the ingredients except for soda in a highball glass with ice. Top off with Kentucky Ale-8-One and stir once.
By Chef Newman Miller of Star Hill Provisions in Loretto, Kentucky
It’s still the start of a new era at Maker’s Mark in Loretto, Kentucky.
The distillery is opening Star Hill Provisions, a fast-casual restaurant, which represents the first time the bourbon producer has ever been allowed to serve cocktails on premises.
Yes, counterintuitive as it seems, in the nearly 60 years since Maker's Mark sold its first bottle, the distiller has never been able to provide guests with cocktails because of longstanding legal stipulations preventing the sale of alcohol by the glass. For decades, regulations have specified that distilleries could only serve 1 oz samples and sell bottles of bourbon, but larger pours and mixed drinks were restricted. Up until last year, that is, when a bill passed through the Kentucky Senate changing up some of those antiquated rules (the volume of a tasting sample also increased to 1.75 oz, as did the number of bottles a visitor is allowed to buy.) It's taken some time to set up, but now the whiskey producers of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail are finally able to show off their wares on-location, with handcrafted tipples.
But why stop at drinks, thought Maker's Mark chairman emeritus Bill Samuels, Jr. and his son, COO Rob Samuels. Along with chef (and local boy) Newman Miller, they set about transforming the grounds' historic Distiller's House into the newly opened Star Hill Provisions. Named for the original tract of land where the family's ancestor T.W. Samuels began his first (by all accounts unimpressive) forays into distillation, the kitchen serves a rotating menu of farm-to-table dishes inspired by local favorites like the Benedictine sandwich, tangy-hot pork ribs, and an adaptation of the classic Kentucky Hot Brown (with added country ham, because why not) as well as more esoteric offerings.
At the pre-opening press event, for example, the chef provided wagyu tartare with walnuts and a chilled egg custard of housemade beer cheese topped with arugula and charred onion. To pair with the food, they'll be serving a highly curated menu of bourbon-based sips: an Old Fashioned, a take on ye olde whiskey-and-Coke featuring local cold brew coffee and Mexican Coke, an aptly named House Cocktail featuring Ale-8-One, a Kentucky favorite ginger-and-citrus soda, and a boozy, bitters-topped slushie that's just begging for a summer afternoon on the porch.
Though the location is starting small - it's currently only open for lunch, Wednesday through Sunday - there are plans for a major expansion to add more seating and more hours, including possible dinner service. In the meantime, bourbon fans will have to make do with the afternoon hours, tastings, tours, the sweet smells of bourbon and yeast wafting over the grounds. It may not be the classic scent of spring, but we'll take it any day.
House Cocktail
Recipe:
1.5 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 tsp fresh lemon Juice
4 oz Kentucky Ale-8-One (if unavailable, substitute your favorite ginger ale)
8 dashes Angostura bitters
Directions:
Build all of the ingredients except for soda in a highball glass with ice. Top off with Kentucky Ale-8-One and stir once.
By Chef Newman Miller of Star Hill Provisions in Loretto, Kentucky
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