Within the two years since the departure of grasp distiller Denny Potter, Maker’s Mark went with out filling the principal function, functioning as a substitute with a collective distilling workforce. That modified this week, with the announcement of Dr. Blake Layfield as the brand new grasp distiller.
Layfield joined Suntory International Spirits (the distillery’s dad or mum firm) in 2019, approaching board as its senior supervisor of analysis and growth. He turned completely Maker’s-oriented in 2022 upon being named head of innovation, mixing, and high quality. Earlier than becoming a member of Suntory, he spent practically 5 years at Diageo; earlier than that, he was onerous at work on his Ph.D. in meals science, which had him wading by brewing sciences, yeast biology, and fermentation processes for over a decade—suffice to say he is aware of what he’s doing!
As grasp distiller, Layfield will oversee not simply the manufacturing of Maker’s Mark whiskeys, from its legacy expressions to modern offshoots, however additionally the distillery’s Star Hill Farm. The sprawling, 1,100-acre property in Loretto, Kentucky spotlights the pure sources that go into bourbon and stands as a really perfect of regenerative agriculture and sustainable farming practices within the space.
Layfield was not the one member of the Maker’s distilling workforce to tackle a brand new function—Beth Buckner, the distillery’s innovation supervisor, is now lead blender. Buckner started her Maker’s profession in 2013 and has since been influential in growing the distillery’s restricted releases, together with the Wooden Ending Collection and Cellar Aged, the latter of which earned a spot on our Prime 20 checklist final yr.
