[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 6, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO MR. BILL SAMUELS, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRETT GUTHRIE

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2011

  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great Kentuckian, 
Mr. Bill Samuels Jr. On April 15, Mr. Samuels will retire as President 
of Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, Ky., leaving a legacy of old 
fashioned integrity and quality craftsmanship.
  Our Commonwealth produces many incredible products. Along with 
Kentucky grown horses and tobacco, we are also known for our fine 
bourbon.
  Samuels has dedicated his career to Kentucky's signature industry, 
helping to make Kentucky bourbon world renowned and contributing so 
much to such a vital part of the Commonwealth's heritage that provides 
thousands of jobs.
  A seventh-generation distiller, Samuels took over the family business 
from his father, Bill Samuels, Sr., who invented the Maker's Mark 
recipe.
  Samuels followed his father's lead in crafting a superior product by 
continuing the tradition of small, closely supervised production--
keeping the bottling to about 600,000 cases per year, a fraction of 
most distilleries.
  Though Samuels grew up around the bourbon industry, playing Lincoln 
Logs with an aged Col. Jim Beam, he had other ideas for his future. 
Samuels played basketball in high school; however, he realized he was 
not very good.
  He then went to college at Case Western Reserve University where he 
studied rocket science and solid propellants. When solid propellants 
became obsolete, Samuels decided to attend law school at Vanderbilt 
University.
  When he finished law school, he returned to Kentucky to work 
temporarily for his father, but 13 years later he was still with the 
company, and his father, Samuels, Sr., passed him the mantle of Maker's 
Mark.
  Of the Nation's bourbon distilleries, Maker's Mark is the oldest 
distillery, continuously operating on its own site. I am proud to 
represent them here in Washington and look forward to their continued 
success.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Bill Samuels, Jr., for 
his dedication and contributions to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

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