If you follow bourbon history the name Burks or Burks Spring Distillery may sound familiar. And if you have spent any time traversing the Kentucky Bourbon Trail you may have seen a Kentucky Historical Society marker that mentions the name Burks Spring Distillery. You see today, what originally began as the Burks Spring Distillery in 1805 is now home to Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky.
The Burks Spring Distillery was operated in Loretto until Prohibition shut down the operation in 1919. After ceasing operations Burks and his partners sold their interest to J.E. Bickett. Bickett went on to use the plant and acreage for farming and livestock. A few years after Prohibition ended distillery operations restarted on the site. In 1953 the facility and property were sold to T.W. Samuels, better known as Bill Samuels, Sr., and it’s been known as Maker’s Mark Distillery since February 1954.
200+ Years Later Burks Family Making Bourbon Using Old Family Recipe
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Fast forward 200+ years and Dick Burks the great-great-great grandson of Charles Burks is reclaiming the family heritage with the introduction of Burks Spring Bourbon. Not only does bourbon bring him back home but Dicks father and aunt were both born in the Victorian style home that sits atop the hill that now serves as the Maker’s Mark visitor center.
“Now, over 200 years after my relatives started making whiskey, I am proud with the help of friends and family to bring back to life the same whiskey my grandfather last made before Prohibition,” said Dick Burks of Burks Spring Distillery. “We are using the same mash bill, proof, and age in our new bourbon, Burks Spring Bourbon.”
We spoke with Burks and he explained that his cousin had an old pre-prohibition bottle of Burks Spring bourbon. Using that bottle as the foundation, Burks worked with Dr. Pat Heist of Wilderness Trail Distillery and Ferm Solutions back in 2018 to reverse engineer a bourbon that replicate the 100+ year old mash bill and proof.
“It’s my pleasure to share this Burks family recipe that was inspired by my great-great-great grandfather over 200 years ago,” added Burks. They ended up with a high rye bourbon mash bill as follows.
Burks Spring Bourbon Mash Bill
- 60% Corn
- 25% Rye
- 15% Malted Barley
“I take great pride in continuing the family bourbon tradition whose original mission in life was to heal the sick, produce mirth, laughter, and good fellowship,” added Burks. Burks explained that this saying was picked up from the families pre-Prohibition era bottle labels.
Burks produced their custom mash bill bourbon at Jeptha Creed Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky for the first three years and has since moved production to Kentucky Artisan Distillery in Crestwood where the barrels are now maturing.
Burks Spring 100 Proof Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Burks Spring Kentucky Straight Bourbon high rye whiskey is Bottled-in-Bond at 100 proof (50% ABV) and will be sold in 750ml bottles with a suggested retail price of $60. The plan is to release about 10 barrels of bourbon whiskey per year which depending on how thirsty the angels are should produce around 2,000 bottles each year.
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