Bill Samuels, Sr.

"The Baker Maker of Maker's Mark"

Bill Samuels burned up the 170 year-old family recipe and almost the living room as well in the 1950's. He then experimented with many recipes but did not have the time to distill them, barrel them, age them and then taste them years later. So he baked seven different mash bill recipes in seven loaves of bread and had his family try each. What they settled on was corn with a soft winter wheat to make their bourbon.

The Samuels family line of mercantile bourbon distillers has now been perpetual through eight generations of the family’s sons although it was not as commercial distillers until Ole T. W. began making it the family business in the 1840’s. The Samuels family tradition actually started several generations before T. W. with Robert Samuels (1755-1822) who originally hailed from East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and served in George Washington’s Continental Army. He was commissioned by the General to make whisky for the soldiers of Washington’s Army. Robert was honorably discharged out of the Army once the Revolutionary War was over, and moved his family and a 60 gallon copper still to the to Central Kentucky area. Robert had three son, William Samuels (Ole T. W.’s father), John Samuels, and Rueben Samuels. It was T. W.’s uncle John that continued in the distilling business but his main job was that of a farmer. Like others in the day he turned his corn into whisky as an efficient way and value added way to transport his harvest.

The commercial distilling began with Taylor William (Ole T. W.) Samuels, {1821-1898}, William Isaac Samuels {1845-1898}, Leslie B. Samuels {1871-1936}; Taylor William Samuels, IV (“Bill, Sr.”) {1911-1992}, Taylor William Samuels, V {“Bill, Jr.”}, and Robert Samuels, even though Prohibition and separating off to form Maker’s Mark both resulted in some down-time.