Hope you like your Maker's Mark with a splash of water... - Page 2

Originally Posted by Piobaire 

Can a person really taste the difference between 40% ABV and 37?

Originally Posted by b1os 

And between 37 and 34? 34 and 31? 31 and 28? If this is the beginning, where will it end, if they try to argue this way?
FWIW, Maker's Mark has 45% in Germany. Is this the regular proof in the US too? 42% would still be relatively high, but their reasoning is utter bullshit. If it didn't change the taste, why haven't they reduced the abv before?

Originally Posted by gnatty8 

If this IS true, and not some cynical, yet admittedly clever marketing strategy, I put the odds as very high that they will alienate their hardcore base, but the average bourbon drinker, particularly in the export market, won't even notice. In other words, they seem to have made a calculated decision that keeping their base happy is not as economic as selling more bottles of less potent whiskey.

Originally Posted by Piobaire 

Also, hard to imagine the gallonage we're talking about for 3% difference to materially increase their inventory.

Originally Posted by jcusey 

Seems to have worked out just fine for Jack Daniel's, which has gone from 90 proof to 86 proof to 80 proof over the last 15 or 20 years without stopping sales growth. The people at Beam obviously think that their core customers won't be upset enough to stop buying, and I wouldn't bet on them being wrong.

Remember that aged, barrel-proof Bourbon probably will be around 60% ABV. Going from 45% to 42% means that you can get around 6.67% more bottles out of a barrel, which isn't insignificant. I think that Maker's has cracked the million-case-per-year mark; so this move gives them 67,000 more cases to sell, without the capital expenditure or the lead time necessary to expand their production.

You spoke. We listened.

Dear Friends,

Since we announced our decision last week to reduce the alcohol content (ABV) of Maker’s Mark in response to supply constraints, we have heard many concerns and questions from our ambassadors and brand fans. We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark. While we thought we were doing what’s right, this is your brand – and you told us in large numbers to change our decision.

You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down.

So effective immediately, we are reversing our decision to lower the ABV of Maker’s Mark, and resuming production at 45% alcohol by volume (90 proof). Just like we’ve made it since the very beginning.

The unanticipated dramatic growth rate of Maker’s Mark is a good problem to have, and we appreciate some of you telling us you’d even put up with occasional shortages. We promise we'll deal with them as best we can, as we work to expand capacity at the distillery.

Your trust, loyalty and passion are what’s most important. We realize we can’t lose sight of that. Thanks for your honesty and for reminding us what makes Maker’s Mark, and its fans, so special.

We’ll set about getting back to bottling the handcrafted bourbon that our father/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr. created. Same recipe. Same production process. Same product.

As always, we will continue to let you know first about developments at the distillery. In the meantime please keep telling us what’s on your mind and come down and visit us at the distillery. It means a lot to us.

Sincerely,

Rob Samuels Bill Samuels, Jr
Chief Operating Officer Chairman Emeritus
rob@makersmark.com bill@makersmark.com