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| - In late January 2025, a short video circulated on social media accompanied by a claim that Maker's Mark employees dip bottles of the Kentucky-made bourbon in a distinctive red wax by hand rather than use an automated machine.
The claim was shared widely on X (archived), where users questioned both whether it was true and what the purpose of the red wax was. One user asked (archived): "Any idea why these bottles are dipped ? i don't drink, so no idea."
Every Maker's Mark bottle is dipped into melted red wax by a distillery employee, not a machine
📹bourbonfinds
pic.twitter.com/sQoilTUfEu
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) January 22, 2025
The answer to the latter question is simple — the manufacturer's decision to seal every bottle with red wax is a marketing tactic. Maker's Mark even trademarked its red wax seal in 1985. In 2010, the company filed a lawsuit against tequila company Jose Cuervo and alcohol distributor Diageo for infringing on that copyright by manufacturing and distributing products with red wax seal.
According to legal documents, Maker's Mark were not awarded any damages in the lawsuit, but the defendants ultimately shelled out nearly $67,000 to Maker's Mark for legal costs. Additionally, the court issued an injunction, preventing the use of "red dripping wax on the cap of a bottle in the sale, offering for sale, distribution or advertising of Cuervo tequila products at any locality within the United States."
As far as the hand-dipping rumor, workers at the Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, do indeed dip each bottle of bourbon into red wax by hand, according to the public relations and marketing agency that represents Maker's Mark, Doe-Anderson. No evidence refuted that assertion. Furthermore, Doe-Anderson confirmed the video circulating on social media supposedly showing the process was authentic. The firm said the video was recorded at the distillery. It shows no signs of digital manipulation or artificial intelligence (AI).
Doe-Anderson provided additional video footage and photos that show the dipping process. Two of those pictures are below.
(Maker's Mark)
Footage depicting the dipping process is available for viewing on the Doe-Anderson Vimeo page.
The red wax was created by Margie Mattingly Samuels, who came from a Kentucky-based, bourbon-making family and cofounded Maker's Mark with her husband Bill Samuels in 1953. A press release by the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, which inducted Margie Samuels in 2014, stated:
A noted collector of fine English pewter, Mrs. Samuels knew the "maker's mark" was a symbol of handcrafted quality. She created the unique red wax that drips down the neck of the bottle she designed, as well as the label and lettering that's now an internationally recognized type style.
The release also includes this quote from Samuels' son Bill Samuels Jr.:
As Associate Editor of my high school yearbook, I'll never forget that day when I came home from school and all my things were sitting outside because Mom had thrown out my photo lab to set up a wax test kitchen in the basement. I was so aggravated with her in that moment, but looking back 60 years, I know that what she accomplished compared to what I might have is just monumental.
According to a feature story about the red wax on the food website Chowhound, the first bottle of Maker's Mark with the now-standard look hit shelves in 1958.
The article reiterated the company's claim about dipping the bottles by hand instead of using machinery: "Because Maker's Mark uses this hand-dipping wax process, the company can't produce as many bottles per hour — making only around 100 to 200 instead of 200 to 400 — and it adds production costs, but it's hard to imagine the brand without this distinctive topper."
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