Latest news with #Regenified
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Maker's Mark Debuts Wheat Whisky, Its First New Mashbill In 70 Years
Star Hill Farm Whisky from Maker's Mark When Maker's Mark debuted in the 1950s, the bourbon became known for a few things: Its distinctive square shaped bottle with a red wax seal on the neck, spelling whiskey without the 'e' as a nod to the brand's Scottish heritage, and for being a 'wheated bourbon' — using red winter wheat as a flavoring grain rather than just rye. It's newest product, which debuts Tuesday, is a wheat whisky, so it doesn't have any corn — a key ingredient in bourbon. It is named after Star Hill Farm, the 1,100-acre farm that is home to the Maker's Mark Distillery. The plot was chosen by Maker's Mark founders, Margie and Bill Samuels Sr., in 1953 for its water source and proximity to grain farmers. The bottle proclaims it is 'locally grown whisky, farmed to showcase the include of our land. Nature as maker.' Thinking about terroir is common in wine making and beginning to gain traction in whiskey production. Bruichladdich in Scotland began distilling whisky in the 2010s using only barley from Islay. Last year, the University of Kentucky established the Estate Whiskey Alliance with seven founding members. Star Hill Farm Whisky will be the first to carry an Estate Whiskey certification which means that it was produced entirely on the distillery estate, using grains sourced from estate owned or controlled land. If you're going to tout the farm and quality of grain your whisky is coming from, then it is also key to care about the soil. Maker's Mark is also the first distillery to received certification from Regenified, a regenerative agriculture certification company. To get the certification, farms must not only currently meet certain standards of regenerative agriculture, such as reducing the amount of soil disturbances like tillage and using cover crops to benefit the soil, but also show they are making improvements in their practices, said Salar Shemirani, the CEO at Regnefied. Maker's Mark has committed to transitioning a million acres of conventional farmland to regenerative over the next three years. Companies have different motivations for transitioning to regenerative agriculture, Shemirani said in an interview. 'The way we are producing food in our agricultural system is simply not sustainable. And not just from an environmental perspective, but from a land capacity and production and availability perspective,' Shemirani said. 'The other one that is critical to the whole system is quality we are noticing that that quality of our crops is really diminishing. The carrots my mom would eat 20 or 30 years ago have 30% less nutritional availability now… Makers Mark really started in pursuit of flavor, and where flavor comes from.' The Maker's Mark Regenerative Alliance and has committed to transitioning a million acres of conventional farmland to regenerative over the next three years. This will have an impact on farmers around them in their supply chain, but also on other distilleries, Shemirani said. Regenified is currently working with two other distilleries working on getting their certification. 'I do believe that something extraordinary is happening,' he said. 'If you're as good and nimble and ambitious as Maker's Mark to know where your grains come from, you want to support your farmers going down this path.' The Maker's Mark still house by wheat fields. Controlling the agricultural product that goes into making the liquid has an impact on taste, said Rob Samuels, an eighth-generation whisky maker and managing director of Maker's Mark who called the process a '10-year journey to unlock nature's depth of flavor,' in a press release. resulting in something new from the Maker's Mark Distillery," Samuels said in a press release. ' The traditional mashbill for Maker's Mark bourbon, is 70 percent corn, 16 percent red winter wheat and 14 percent malted barley. Star Hill Farm Whisky will change each year. The 2025 release is a blend of two seven and eight year old whiskies with two mashbills, one with 70% soft red winter wheat and 30% malted barley, and the other with 100% malted soft red winter wheat. Blended together, that ends up being 51% soft red winter wheat, 27% malted soft red winter wheat and 22% malted barley. It's bottled at cask strength at 114.7 proof. Dr. Blake Layfield, the master distiller of Maker's Mark, described the nose as having notes of buttery caramel, golden raisins and gingerbread, with honeyed toffee, chocolate-covered cherries, and a hint of apple pie spice on the palate. The finish is 'smooth and inviting, with toasted pecans and soft cinnamon bringing it all together.' The limited-time release will be available for $100.
CBC
29-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Can't be green if you're in the red': Tariff response takes priority over sustainable farming, producers say
Social Sharing Southern Manitoba farmer Alexander Boersch knows that using innovative sustainability measures to improve soil health, water infiltration and nutrient efficiency isn't cheap — and he worries the costs could deter farmers from taking new approaches as tariffs threaten their livelihoods. Boersch, who runs Abtshof Farms near Elie, about 45 kilometres west of Winnipeg, is focused on regenerative agriculture, which aims to limit the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. He uses methods like cover cropping — planting crops specifically intended to protect soil health. But 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the U.S. on steel and aluminum imports — and the threat of more levies in the coming week — along with 100 per cent retaliatory tariffs from China on Canadian canola oil and meal are causing uncertainty in the agriculture industry, he said. Lower profit margins may discourage sustainability practices like crop rotation or cover cropping, which can be costly and may not produce benefits for two to three years, said Boersch, who is also the co-founder of Re-Gen Ag Solutions, a company that helps farmers implement soil and crop health strategies. "It's such an important industry for Canada in terms of bringing in a lot of economic benefits … and if we want to produce healthy food, you need good farming practices." Seeding will begin soon, but so far, few crops are expected to turn a profit for most Prairie farmers. Boersch is convinced sustainable agriculture "is the right thing to do," but said he'll have to be strategic with costs. While there are some subsidies for sustainability available, for the most part, farmers foot the bill for those initiatives, he said. That means for farmers who "really like this idea, but aren't 100 per cent sure and they don't want to take too much risk … they're going to drop things like this, because they just see it as an extra cost," he said. 'Scary for farmers right now' Abtshof Farms has more than 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) and has been certified as a regenerative farm by the U.S. company Regenified. But the trade war between Canada and the U.S. is limiting new partnerships that would let them capitalize on that certification, with some companies reluctant to work with the farm amid the uncertainty, said Boersch. "It's scary for farmers right now," Boersch said. "If we don't address these tariffs soon, there's going to be a lot of pain in the agricultural sector going into next year." Colin Hornby, the general manager with the Manitoba industry association Keystone Agricultural Producers, said while reducing carbon emissions is important, international trade and tariffs are top priorities for farmers right now. "You can't be green if you're in the red, so we really have a hard time talking about things other than the trade and other financial issues," Hornby said. With a new government set to be elected April 28, both Hornby and Boersch say finding a resolution with China — after Canada put 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25 per cent levy on Chinese aluminum and steel products last fall — is a key issue. Hornby said the government also needs to ensure any new environmental policies won't stymie growth for agricultural producers, which might involve rethinking what "sustainability" means. "We want to make sure that if somebody's able to grow more with less inputs, that that's considered sustainable, that we're not focusing solely on emissions," he said. Boersch said the government needs to address the effect of China's tariffs on farmers as canola prices drop. He said farmers in Western Canada haven't felt heard on the issue, and will need support. Operating costs have soared in the last decade due to inflation, which has been "horrendous in agriculture," he said, emphasizing the need to prioritize the industry's concerns and promote free trade to lessen the burden producers face, he said. Without that, farmers may have to cut costs, reduce wages and take a step back from opportunities for growth, Boersch said. "Obviously we have to protect ourselves when we need to, but we're in a position now where we've been painted into a corner by policies against China when our biggest customer, the U.S., is in a battle with us," he said.
