Bourbon Story Magazine editor Michael Lindenberger spent the day with Bill Samuels, Jr., in his native Bardstown, Ky., where his parents founded Maker’s Mark as a hobby.

It was Bill’s job as a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University law school to find a way to turn it into a business. He did that much and more, laying the groundwork for the invention of the premium bourbon market that is still growing today.