Bourbon legacy: Maker’s Mark founders restoring, opening family home to visitors

The Samuels family, founders of Maker’s Mark bourbon, recently purchased their old family home -- a building full of bourbon-making history that has also been a doctor’s office, a general store and the alleged “actual” site of the end of the Civil War (more on that later).

In February 2021, the family bought the Samuels House in Nelson County, built around 1820, with the intention of restoring it and opening it up for “select guests” to stay in overnight. The renovations are still ongoing, but the family said the house will be ready for guests in September 2021.

Rob Samuels, an eighth-generation whiskey maker with Maker’s Mark, said he hopes the house will be a way to share his family’s history with bourbon lovers.

“I think the legacy of this family is ... about hospitality, which is such an important part of bourbon culture,” he said. “To swing open the doors here in September, to let bourbon lovers that are traveling from all over the world as part of their Kentucky experience to be surrounded by this legacy, is just going to be a lot of fun.”

The Samuels House history

The house was built in the 1820s by John Samuels, whose father Robert Samuels fought in the Continental Army and first began the family’s 250-year-old tradition of whiskey making.

Rob Samuels’ father, Bill Samuels, Jr., said his great-great-aunt was living in the house during the Civil War era. According to Bill Samuels, Jr., the house was the site of the actual end of the war.

Bill Samuels, Jr. said the last firearm of the war, owned by the last fighting group, was surrendered in the house’s front yard to the county sheriff T. W. Samuels, his great-great-great-grandfather.

Six out of those 17 group members became founding members of the James Gang, notorious bank robbers led by Frank and Jesse James. Bill Samuels, Jr. said the family is related to the James Gang through marriage.

“Nice group we got,” he said.

Over the centuries, the Samuels House has served several functions, including a doctor’s office and a general store. Bill Samuels, Jr. said he remembers riding his bike to visit his cousins who lived in the house and going to the general store.

“If we didn’t like lunch, we’d go to the general store and buy a Moon Pie or something,” he said.

The Samuels House stayed in the family until the late 1950s. In February 2021, Rob Samuels bought the house, saying that seeing it was like “walking back in time.”

Restoring the Samuels House

The restoration process began in late February 2021, Rob Samuels working with a team of designers to make the house ready for guests.

When the renovations are completed, the house will have three guest suites and three-and-a-half bathrooms featuring modern fixtures. The basement will have a speakeasy and a game room for guests to enjoy.

Jeffrey James, who is working as the project’s interior designer, said the “puzzle” he had to solve was how to keep the feel of a rustic farmhouse while making the space functional for guests.

Craig Rushing, the architect working on the Samuels House, said his vision for the project is “doing what you can, but not overdoing it.”

Rushing said he hopes to preserve the house’s historic charm while incorporating modern amenities. “I feel like I’m collaborating with someone from the 1820s,” he said.

James and Rushing worked with the Samuels, looking through hundreds of years of family heirlooms and featuring many of them throughout the house. Guests can see letters, 50 whiskey bottles spanning 150 years of distilling, family photos and the pistol that Frank James surrendered in the front yard.

“It’s just fun for us to be able to share,” Rob Samuels said. “So many of these pieces were tucked away, not forgotten, but were never appreciated beyond just our immediate family.”

Although renovations on the Samuels House will not be completed until September, guests can pre-book on the website or by calling (502) 999-0203; nightly rates range from $1,250-$1,500.

The history of Maker’s Mark

Rob Samuels said his family’s ties to whiskey-making date back 250 years to the American Revolution, when John Samuels distilled for George Washington’s army.

T. W. Samuels, the county sheriff, was the family’s first commercial distiller, and several of his bottles are on display in the house.

Bill Samuel, Jr. said his parents, Bill, Sr. and Margie Samuels, were the ones who made Maker’s Mark what it is today.

“We made pretty mediocre whiskey for 175 years, but Dad, he wasn’t too proud of it,” Bill Samuels, Jr. said. “He got back into business primarily to see if he could do better. And then, when he liked the whiskey they had created, his vision became, ‘We have to have this project outlive us.’”

While Bill Samuels, Sr. perfected the bourbon, Margie Samuels perfected the bottle. Rob Samuels said she came up with the name “Maker’s Mark” and designed the bottle’s shape.

Margie Samuels also created the bottle’s trademark red wax seal, using a kitchen deep fryer to melt the wax and dip the bottles. Her deep fryer is on display in the Samuels House parlor.

Rob Samuels said he is excited to share the story of his grandparents and family with bourbon lovers from around the world. “Folks are drawn to Kentucky culture,” he said. “Hopefully this can help contribute to that energy and interest.”