Maker’s Mark: My Autobiography by Bill Samuels

I picked up this coffee table book in Louisville after I had gone to the Maker’s Mark lounge. It was a different kind of bar – with comfy couches and stuffed chairs for seating, some behind light curtains. They are cigar friendly and the air was filled with the not unpleasant smell of cigar smoke. Maker’s Mark is a local bourbon and they have a whole list of bourbon’s you can try – you can even compare them by ordering “flights” that is smaller shots of three brands at a time. The book is colorful and fun about a family tradition of distilling bourbon and how they make and market the drink now. They have a distinct red wax hand dipped on the cap and neck of the bottle. As an old Jack Daniel’s drinker I found this fascinating and the bartender told me about differences between the different whiskeys. Bourbon is one of them and can only be made in Kentucky because of the water. Not a book I need to keep, so I’ll either have to find someone to gift it to or donate it to the library. (read on 5/15/05)