A Day on the Trail: Spectacular Dale Chihuly 2.0 Glass Exhibit Arrives at Maker’s Mark Distillery for Limited Engagement [Photo Gallery]

Bourbon whiskey and art have a lot in common. Just as every bottle of bourbon tells a story, so does every piece of art.

We recently had the opportunity to get a behind the scenes tour of the new 2025 Chihuly Exhibit at Maker’s Mark Distillery at Star Hill Farm in Loretto, Kentucky. The tour was led by Rob Samuels, 8th Generation Whiskey Maker and Britt Cornett, Director Exhibitions at Chihuly Studio. While there, we captured some photos and lots of stories about each of the nine pieces of spectacular artwork featured at the distillery.

If you have not made it to the distillery for the Chihuly exhibit, do yourself a favor and go. If you went in 2017 you know how spectacular it can be. If you are thinking, been there done that, forget that thought right now. The 2025 exhibit is completely re-imagined. There are a few pieces that have returned like the ‘Sapphire and Platinum Waterdrop Tower’ (Stop #1 of the exhibit) but there is a reason for that. It was originally made in 2017 just for the Maker’s Mark exhibit. As Samuels explained, “We insisted that we showcase the Sapphire Tower because that piece was inspired by the water source here at Star Hill Farm. And that water source, was the reason my grandparents chose this site.”  

Why Does Maker’s Mark Celebrate Culture and the Arts?

Before we jump into the details of the exhibit, let’s talk about why an art exhibit at a distillery, at this particular distillery, makes perfect sense.

“When we think about my grandparents’ vision and their commitment, when they stepped away from a 160-year distilling legacy to make space for something better, to reimagine what bourbon could be. My grandfather was the whiskey maker, he was obsessed over flavor irrespective of cost, he wanted to make a rich creamy, balanced full flavored bourbon,” commented Rob Samuels, 8th Generation Whiskey Maker at Maker’s Mark Distillery.

“And it was my grandmother who did everything else. She was the one who wanted to celebrate this vision for handmade bourbon. Through the name Maker’s Mark and the crafts men and women who created the pewter, the mark of the maker, hand cutting labels, and hand dipping bottles. 

“We have been custodians of their vision now for decades. And one of the ways we honor the vision is through collaborating with the arts. A number of years ago, I’d taken my daughter Blair to a Chihuly exhibit. Together we experienced the brilliance of Dale Chihuly’s creative vision, at Cheekwood Gardens, down in Nashville, Tennessee, where we witnessed this large-scale exhibit, pushing boundaries through the glass art and a garden that created sort of natural landscape. And when I came back to Kentucky, I would flip through one of the books of Dale’s, celebrating Dale’s artwork with Blair, and then I started writing letters to get them to visit the distillery.

“After maybe the eighth or ninth letter I wrote I think they were a little like ‘why a distillery’? Thankfully, the Chihuly Studio, Dale and Leslie Chihuly, opened up a conversation with us and they eventually came to visit the distillery. It was almost immediately after they stepped foot on this property that they understood that this could be a really special collaboration, a kindred partnership.”

As the relationship grew, Samuels and his team would go to Seattle to visit The Boathouse, the home to Chihuly’s studio in Seattle, Washington.  

“My first trip ever to the studio, was one I’ll never forget,” said Samuels. “We had dinner with Dale Chihuly at a really nice restaurant in Seattle, and I brought that book from Cheekwood Garden. It was that book that Blair and I would look through for inspiration.

“And after the dinner I asked Dale, if he would sign this book to Blair, so he did. He put “For Blair Love Chihuly” and he drew a vase with flowers and he dipped his fingers in the glass of whiskey. He said, “It needs color.” So he dipped his fingers in a glass of whiskey and colored in the flowers.”

Here is the page from that book that Chihuly signed and colorized with bourbon.

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