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Mark of distinction: A tale of whiskey and wax

Dispatches from the ‘Whiskey Trail’:

Dispatch 1: 7 secrets of bourbon tasting

Dispatch 3: Whiskey vs. bourbon -- know the difference?

BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Step away from the shot glass.

No, seriously, put it down and back away slowly. Let’s see those hands. Producing whiskey is an art, and like any art form, the creations are deserving of a little thoughtful contemplation.

That means giving it more than the few seconds it takes to knock back a shot. We’re in the bourbon capital of the world, the perfect place to begin your formal tutoring into the art of whiskey.

Hundreds of small bourbon distilleries once called this area home, drawing on the abundance of limestone-filtered water and corn. Think of it as a Napa Valley for bourbon, only most of the small-time operations have long since gone under.

Most of those left are major players in the whiskey industry, well-known producers such as Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark. They offer tours most days of the year, allowing you to get a first-hand look at how your favorite drink is made.

Take Maker’s Mark, for instance. The company’s bourbon differs from many in the industry, as the rye has been replaced with wheat, making for a gentler taste that hits you in the sweet sensors on the front of the tongue.

Speaking of Maker’s, the next time you’re at the liquor store, take a look at the wax.

Move over to the bourbon section and find the shelf filled with the amber goodness, a fine Kentucky bourbon known for its distinctive red wax seal over the cap. Peeling off that wax, so that the bottle can be cracked and poured, is a rite of passage for any Maker’s drinker.

But have you ever considered how the was gets there?

Staring at the shelf, take notice of how many bottles of Maker’s are available. Odds are strong that most of those bottles came out of the same case, which means they were packaged all at once, which means that they were all bottled within seconds of one another.

Every bottle of Maker’s moves down one of two assembly lines, picking up whiskey, cap and labels. These near-finished bottles are then sent to four workers manning wax tubs, where the bottles are hand-dipped in the crimson goo, cooled, then boxed up tight and shipped around the world.

So now for the test. Take careful notice of the wax seals on the bottle tops.

“There’s not exactly a right or wrong dip,” said Kevin Smith, an assistant master distiller for the company. “But everyone does have their own style.”

Some prefer a moderate dip in the wax, barely enough to cover the cap. Others like to go deeper, sending rivers of hot wax down the sides of the bottle. Either way, the dippers move at a quick pace, sealing more than 150 bottles a minute.

“We’re a model of inefficiency by choice,” Smith said. The company prides itself on handcrafted details, such as the labels that are printed and cut on-site, rather than ordered in from a printing company.

The process is not as easy as the dippers make it look. Despite their skills and experience, the occasional slip up occurs and a bottle tumbles into the tub.

“It doesn’t happen often, but it happens,” said one Maker’s Mark employee, checking finished products as they roll down the line. “We just fish ‘em out with the hook and keep going. We never shut it down.”

Now, look at the shelf again. If you stare hard enough, you can begin to see the subtle differences between the various dips, and you might even be able to tell which bottles were dipped by the same person.

This does nothing to the taste of the whiskey, obviously, but it’s an interesting little tidbit.

Showing their age

Speaking of interesting tidbits, if you ever decide to take a tour of the nation’s distilleries, you can easily spot the old ones by looking for train tracks. If the distillery was built prior to the 1840s, there are no train tracks nearby. Younger distilleries were built in close proximity to railway access.

And in case you’re wondering, Maker’s Mark is the oldest operating bourbon whiskey distillery in the world. In operation since 1805, the company’s longevity is recorded in the Guinness World Records.

It’s also worth noting, oh student of the brew, that in order to make whiskey, you must first make beer. After the grains are mixed and fermented, the frothy liquid that’s created is known as “distiller’s beer,” and you probably wouldn’t enjoy chugging it while watching the big game.

You wouldn’t want to do shots of it either.