GERMANY. Kentucky bourbon-brand Maker’s Mark, part of Beam Suntory, has extended its Wood Finishing City Series with the Frankfurt City Edition.
The limited-edition release is now available exclusively at Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 with Frankfurt Airport Retail (the JV between Fraport and Gebr. Heinemann) and will roll out across two additional airport locations in early 2024.
The expression is being promoted via a high-profile animation in the Heinemann Duty Free Store at the airport. The animation highlights the expression’s story and deep links to Frankfurt City.
It is the latest release in the City Series collection which aims to capture the character and flavours of the world’s most dynamic cities. The launch of the Frankfurt City edition follows the successful debut of the range last year with the New York and Sydney expressions.
The Wood Finishing City Series celebrates the spirit of every city. The Frankfurt expression was created in partnership with the city’s top hospitality connoisseurs and tastemakers to capture the spirit of the city within the hand-crafted bourbon.
Maker’s Mark teamed up with Chef Denny Ginzel and bar owner Andreas Schoeler to create the Frankfurt edition. Ginzel is Chef de Bar at Ritzi Stuttgart, a brasserie-style restaurant that features a 16-person one Michelin star Chef’s Table. Schoeler is co-founder of the award-winning bar One Trick Pony in Freiburg.
The Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Frankfurt City Edition is bold and dark, combining sour cherry notes with a long finish. It is bottled at 55.1% ABV with an RRP of €99.9 (US$109)
Maker’s Mark eight generation whisky maker and grandson of one of the founders Rob Samuels commented: “It’s incredibly rewarding to bring a taste of our distillery in Loretto, Kentucky to the global travel retail market through the continuation of the City Series.
“Just as my grandparents sat down with a taste vision in mind when creating Maker’s Mark, our talented tastemakers in Frankfurt have channelled the experience of this dynamic city to create a bespoke, flavourful bourbon that we’re thrilled to share with our travelling fans.”
The City Series is described as the culmination of more than a decade of wood-science innovation and expertise, exploring the influence of oak and agriculture on bourbon’s wide-ranging taste profiles.
To craft each expression, the brand finished fully mature cask-strength Maker’s Mark in a second barrel with a custom selection of wood staves. The barrels are rested in limestone bourbon cellars, allowing the cask-strength bourbon to absorb the woody notes of the staves and deepen the flavour.
The Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series celebrates the inherent uniqueness of different wood types, celebrating individuality through flavour, just as each city’s individualised signature whisky now does, the brand said. ✈
