At Maker's Mark, Star Hill Farm Whiskey Spotlights the Distillery's Agricultural Side
The wheat whiskey, now in its second edition, is a taste of the distillery’s regenerative agriculture efforts
April 22, 2026 –––––– Julia Higgins
It’s Earth Day, and Maker’s Mark is celebrating with the second edition of its Star Hill Farm wheat whiskey. “This whiskey represents flavor from nature; we’re refocusing the conversation to view whisky as an agricultural product, not just a drink, [with Star Hill Farm],” says Rob Samuels, managing director and eighth-generation whiskey maker.
The 2026 release continues on the path set by the inaugural expression; it’s a blend of two mashbills, one 100% malted wheat (made from a combination of soft red winter, hard white, and heirloom hard red wheat), and the other a combination of 70% unmalted wheat (comprised of soft red winter and heirloom hard red) and 30% malted barley. The wheat is sourced from the distillery’s partner growers; it has 10 partners in total, all located within 30 miles of the distillery and certified in regenerative agriculture. Its own estate-grown grains, originally planted in 2020, are expected to become integral to the release beginning in 2027 or 2028. The whiskeys in the 2026 release are 7 to 8 years old, and the final blend is bottled at a cask strength of 58.2% ABV.
We got a preview of the new whiskey, which will roll out next month (and outside the U.S., it’ll be available in Japan, the UK, Australia, and Duty-free markets). While there are similarities to the inaugural release, this whiskey isn’t meant to be linear year-to-year, but rather to represent the variations that occur naturally across each growing season. Where the first Star Hill Farm whiskey was fruity, rustic, and peppery, this iteration moves in a bolder, deeper direction. The nose is divine, resplendent with fig, spiced pear, and orange peel, and the palate is characterized by a round mouthfeel, candied orange, and heady baking spice. The whiskey drinks well below its proof, making for a delicious dram.
When Star Hill Farm debuted last year, it set Maker’s on a new course for the first time in its 73-year history—never before had anything but bourbon been bottled by the distillery. In creating the Star Hill Farm brand, Maker’s also firmly moved its focus toward its regenerative agriculture efforts, which have become a core tenet of the distillery’s identity. Star Hill Farm was the first whiskey with Estate Whiskey certification from the Estate Whiskey Alliance (EWA), a consortium that formed in 2024 with Maker’s as a founding member, with the goal of elevating estate-grown whiskeys into a category of their own. Samuels, in particular, is patently passionate about the agriculture side of Maker’s, leading projects like the planting of some 10,000 oak trees since 2020, in an effort to establish the world’s largest white oak research repository at Star Hill Farm.
