Estate Whiskey Alliance Offers Certifications And Research Grants

The Estate Whiskey Alliance was founded on August 22, 2024 with seven members. The Alliance membership is composed of whiskey producers, farmers, suppliers, academic institutions and related entities to promote estate whiskey. To be considered estate whiskey, at least two-thirds of the grains used in making the whiskey must be grown on land owned or controlled by the distillery, and all production—milling, cooking, fermenting, distilling, barreling, aging and bottling—must occur on land owned or controlled by the distillery.

Since its formation one year ago, membership in the Alliance has nearly tripled. “We are now at 16 members,” said Landon Borders, director of the Alliance and senior executive director of the UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky, in a telephone interview. “We are pleased as punch with that.”

Estate Whiskey Alliance Certified Products

As part of its efforts to promote estate whiskey, the Alliance has created a seal that can be found on certified products. Fourteen products from four distilleries now bear the Estate Whiskey Certified logo, indicating that the whiskey meets the Alliance’s definition of estate whiskey. The logo also indicates the percentage of grains—a minimum of two-thirds—in the whiskey coming from the estate.

In order to be allowed the carry the Estate Whiskey Certified logo, estate distilleries must apply to the Alliance. “The product must be made by an Estate Whiskey Alliance member,” explained Borders. “There is a lot of required disclosure around the origins of the grain, maps of the estate down to the location of the mill. It is arduous.” Once the disclosure has been reviewed, a site visit by Alliance representatives is required, to ensure compliance and quality control. For distilleries making both estate and non-estate whiskey, proper segregation of grains and distillate need to be assured.

Borders notes that in the wine industry, estate wine commands a premium of about 30% over other wines. The potential for a similar premium for estate whiskey is what is driving interest in the Alliance and its certification.

But it’s more than just money.

Maker’s Mark Distillery achieved the very first Estate Whiskey Certified product, their Star Hill Farm Wheat Whisky (Maker’s Mark prefers to spell “whisky” without the “e”) was granted Certification Number 2025-0001. The whiskey is a blend of seven- and eight-year-old whiskey, so it was a product in the making years before the Estate Whiskey Alliance was created. But its production was intended to showcase exactly what the Alliance is all about, so it made sense for Maker’s Mark to seek certification.

“For us, when we look back to our founding family—the Samuels family who founded Maker’s Mark in 1953—they recognized nature’s role in making fine whiskey,” said Blake Layfield, master distiller and head of innovation and blending. “This certification makes it a global standard for working with grains that showcase place.”

Layfield notes that since the founding of Maker’s Mark, the Starr Hill Farm Wheat Whisky is their first release with a grain bill different from original Maker’s Mark. Rather than creating a new expression with cask finishing or extraneous flavorings, the distillery sought to make a whiskey that celebrates their land. “For us, innovation comes from nature and innovation comes from place,” he said.

Batches of whiskey require individual certification so it is the intent of Maker’s Mark to release new batches of Starr Hill Farms Wheat Whisky annually, each earning certification. Other certified products will also need to certify new releases and with the program only being one year old, it is anticipated that the number of certified products will continue to grow.

Estate Whiskey Alliance Funds Research

On August 18, 2025, the Estate Whiskey Alliance announced awarding the first grants under its research grant program. The program is intended to fund research that focuses on agriculture, manufacturing and terroir that will influence the future of estate whiskey production.

The two projects receiving grants are led by researchers at the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and are titled “Exploring Regional Terroir in Kentucky-Grown Barley for Single Malt Whiskey Production” and “Consumer Perceptions of Certified Estate Whiskeys: Marketing Insights for Sustainable Branding.”

In just one year, the growth of the Estate Whiskey Alliance and the launching of two major programs—the Estate Whiskey Certified Products and the grant program—proves the desire for whiskey produces to have ways to distinguish their products. “It is another way to be as transparent as possible with consumers,” said Borders.