The brand has introduced a Frankfurt City Edition to its Wood Finishing City Series; it is available exclusively at Frankfurt Airport in partnership with Gebr. Heinemann and will be extended to airport locations in two additional cities in early 2024
Maker’s Mark has announced the continuation of its Wood Finishing City Series in global travel retail – a collection which captures the unique character and flavors of the world’s most dynamic cities for whisky fans traveling the globe.
Following the series debut last year with its New York City and Sydney expressions, the iconic Kentucky bourbon brand has this month introduced a Frankfurt City Edition, available exclusively at Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1, in partnership with Gebr Heinemann. This collection will be extended to airport locations in two additional cities in early 2024.
To create the newest expression in the City Series, Maker’s Mark worked with Frankfurt’s finest hospitality connoisseurs and tastemakers to evoke the essence and nuances of the place they call home, through the medium of handcrafted bourbon.
City tastemakers Denny Ginzel and Andreas Schoeler helped Marker’s Mark create a sip that starts in a way you wouldn’t expect, and comes together in the end in a big, bold way – much like the city and its people.
Ginzel is Chef de bar at Ritzi Stuttgart – a brasserie-style restaurant that incorporates a 16-person one Michelin star Chef’s Table. The restaurant’s bar and drink concepts are inspired by Ginzel’s international travels, with influences drawn from Thailand, Australia and Italy. Schoeler is co-founder of the award-winning One Trick Pony bar, which opened in Freiburg in 2017.
The Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Frankfurt City Edition is bold and dark toned, combining sour cherry notes and a long, dusty finish.
Achieving the taste visions of each release in the City Series is made possible through the brand’s innovative wood stave-finishing technique, which explores and enhances distinctive characteristics already present in Maker’s Mark Bourbon. To craft each custom expression, the brand finished fully matured, cask strength Maker’s Mark in a second barrel with a custom selection of wood staves, based on the tastemakers’ ideal flavor vision. The barrels rested in the Maker’s Mark limestone bourbon cellar, allowing the cask strength bourbon to interact with the staves to develop the expression’s unique flavor.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to bring a taste of our distillery in Loretto, Kentucky to the global travel retail market through the continuation of the City Series,” noted Rob Samuels, 8th generation whisky maker and grandson of the founders at Maker's Mark. “Just as my grandparents sat down with a taste vision in mind when creating Maker’s Mark, our talented tastemakers in Frankfurt have channeled the experience of this dynamic city to create a bespoke, flavorful bourbon that we’re thrilled to share with our traveling fans.”
Bottled at 55.1% AVB, the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series Frankfurt Edition is available in limited quantities, with an RRSP of €99.90 (US$110).
The launch is being supported by a high-profile experiential activation space which pays homage to Frankfurt, featuring a tasting bar, impactful brand imagery, tastemaker information, uniformed Maker’s Mark ambassadors and exclusive screen-printed tote bags. The activation will run at Frankfurt Airport from December until the end of January 2024.
“We see enormous potential for premium American whisky, which will be a key focus for the group in 2024,” noted Beam Suntory Brand Marketing Director Global Travel Retail Manuel Gonzalez. “This new release from Maker’s Mark perfectly captures the character of Frankfurt, and is an exciting addition to the brand’s Wood Finishing City Series.”
He added, “This unique release offers yet another collectible opportunity for our traveling consumers, while enhancing our brand storytelling, and truly showcasing our commitment to capturing a Sense of Place. The Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing City Series also highlights our ability to tailor our portfolio and create compelling products, in order to really connect with our customers and build brand loyalty.”
Frankfurt Airport Category Manager Dominik Paul commented, “We are very grateful that we were able to realize this exclusive Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series in Frankfurt together with Beam Suntory, and to accompany the launch with a meaningful activation in one of our most frequented and best-selling shops. With the activation we can offer our customers exclusive added value in our shop and with the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series Frankfurt Edition an exclusive highlight.”
