Watch the Bottling Process at Maker’s Mark Distillery [VIDEO]

While a member of a 12 person team running across Kentucky in what is known as The Bourbon Chase, I had the opportunity to visit several distilleries.

The chase started at the Jim Beam distillery in Louisville and ended at Town Branch in Lexington. Along the way, our team was able to spend time at Four Roses, Woodford Reserve, Heaven Hill, Wild Turkey and Maker's Mark.

While at the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto, KY, we had the chance to see the bottling process up close.

As you can see in the video, the procedure starts with empty bottles being unpacked and loaded onto a conveyor belt. The empty boxes are put on another conveyor belt that runs along top of the whole production and work their way to the end of the line where we'll see them later.

The empty bottles then go to be rinsed out and move on to be filled with bourbon. Then it's off to be capped and labeled. From there, the full bottles are separated into two lines and are hand-dipped in Maker's Mark's signature red wax. While every drop of bourbon is consistent, each drip is distinctively different, thanks to the particular technique of the individual dipper. An important fact about the quality of the wax they use: It won’t melt until it hits 350 degrees. This is to ensure it doesn’t melt after it dries.

From there, the bottles go through a section where the wax is quickly dried and is then re-packaged and put into in the same box it came out of.

Maker's Mark was not only designated a National Historic Landmark in 1980 but also holds a Guinness Book of World Record for being the Oldest Operating Bourbon Whisky Distillery.