The producers of the Kentucky whiskey are pouring about $67 million into an expansion that features a new still. The ramped up production comes a couple of years after Maker's caused a stir with its short-lived attempt to cut the amount of alcohol in each bottle to stretch its whiskey supplies.

Maker's — known for its square bottles sealed in red wax — fired up the new still this week at its distillery near the small town of Loretto, about 45 miles south of Louisville. Every drop of Maker's is produced at the distillery. The expansion includes more fermenters and storage warehouses as Maker's looks to boost yearly production to 2 million cases later this decade. The brand surpassed 1 million cases per year in 2011.

"We see this as the beginning of what will be a sustained period of growth for premium bourbon, and Maker's in particular, here in the U.S. and around the world," said Maker's Mark chief operating officer Rob Samuels, grandson of the brand's founders.

The Maker's and Jim Beam bourbon brands are owned by Suntory Holdings Ltd., a Japanese beverage company.

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