Sipping & Storytelling with Bill Samuels Jr.

"Sipping & Storytelling" is an exclusive, intimate opportunity to share whisky and wisdom with the legendary Bill Samuels, Jr.

Bill Samuels, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of Maker's Mark, has been called many things in his long, illustrious career. Visionary, trend-setter, marketing genius, larger than life, industry champion, civic leader, and yes - even outrageous, shocking, and hilarious. He's even carried the title (accurately) of rocket scientist. But one label on which everyone agrees is that Bill is a master storyteller. Bill Samuels, Jr. built upon the legacy of his parents who created Maker's Mark Bourbon, eventually leading the distillery for some 40 years, taking the whisky from a little-known player in Central Kentucky to one of the world's most iconic brands. There are plenty of stories from that remarkable tenure (like when he tricked his dad into an interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter, helping catapult Maker's Mark to national recognition).

But Bill can also bring history to life with the riveting tale of the last Confederate militia surrendering in the front yard of this very house, a moment some might call the real end of the Civil War. Or the summer when Bill drove Colonel Sanders around Kentucky as he tried to get his little start-up business going, something he called Kentucky Fried Chicken. Or the time when Bill's father burned the old family whisky recipe to start Maker's Mark, and nearly set his sister's hair on fire. Or the, um, "incident" Bill had with a Polaris rocket engine he was helping design as an aerospace engineer, which let's just say accelerated his return to the family distilling business, instead.

Bill's engaging tales will be served up along with cocktails made with Maker's Mark 46, an expression of the family whisky that Bill created to bring his own taste vision to life, while staying true to the original character of classic Maker's Mark. Don't be surprised if he relates a story or two about the twists and turns of that adventurous project, too.

Subject to availability. Please indicate your preference for day/time in the comment box when submitting your reservation.

$500 from this experience will be donated to the Bellarmine University Rubel School of Business to support scholarships for its Women of Color Entrepreneurs - Leadership Certificate Program. This program is dear to the hearts of the Samuels family as it celebrates and empowers women to be dynamic leaders, just as Bill's mother Margie Samuels was in so many ways in the creation of the Maker's Mark brand along with her husband, Bill, Sr.

Only overnight guests can book this package.  Lodging is not included in the package price.