News of shake-ups in Maker’s Mark company structure came out on Tuesday, with reports of both master distiller Denny Potter and head blender Jane Bowie leaving the brand. Both will make their exits from the Kentucky bourbon brand on Sept. 2, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
In an Aug. 30 tweet posted just after 2 p.m., Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Janet Patton reports Potter and Bowie “have an entrepreneurial itch and have expressed a desire to blaze their own trails in the bourbon industry with a new venture.’”
Big bourbon news: Master distiller Denny Potter and head blender Jane Bowie are leaving @MakersMark. According to note from Rob Samuels, they ‘have an entrepreneurial itch and have expressed a desire to blaze their own trails in the Bourbon industry with a new venture.’
— Janet Patton (@janetpattonhl) August 30, 2022
General manager and head distiller Potter has held the enviable role at Maker’s Mark for nearly four years, following several positions across the spirits industry. He first entered Beam Suntory’s Maker’s Mark in 2003 as the director of distillery and environmental operations. Jane Bowie held her role as head of blending and innovation for a short five months but has occupied several roles across the corporation over the past 15 years. She holds the title of the first Maker’s Mark international global brand ambassador, a position she stepped into back in 2015.
The two whisky leaders are leaving the Kentucky-based brand to pursue their own venture. There’s no word yet on who might replace Potter and Bowie in their respective roles at Maker’s Mark.
The premium spirits brand launched in Loretta, Kent. in 1953, as T. William Sanders Sr. and his wife Margie distilled a family bourbon recipe into commercially-available Maker’s Mark. It’s since grown to one of Kentucky’s most recognizable whiskey brands.
Maker’s Mark did not immediately return VinePair’s request for comment.