Lucien Laviscount fronts a new short film from Maker’s Mark

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There’s a time and a place for compromise. No one’s expecting hand-chiselled ice in an airport bar, are they? The same way not every drink on a menu needs a long and painfully self-important backstory. And — truth be told — almost nobody wants to spend twenty minutes discussing vermouth.

But certain things still benefit from ceremony. A proper steak. A trimly tailored suit. Or a cocktail made by somebody who knows the appeal of simple drinks done well. That’s the thinking behind Maker’s Mark’s latest collaboration with Lucien Laviscount — who stars in a new short film shot at Hawksmoor’s recently opened St Pancras outpost.

But the highly decorated bourbon brand has long preferred its own path, staunchly and commendably refusing to compromise. Back in 1953, founders Margie and Bill Samuels, Sr. broke with tradition, burning their family’s 170-year-old whiskey recipe in pursuit of something softer, sweeter and altogether more balanced. The result was Maker’s Mark: a bourbon made with soft red winter wheat rather than rye, and with that rounded, creamy profile that lends itself so well to an Old Fashioned.

To celebrate that classic cocktail, Maker’s Mark has called on British actor Lucien Laviscount to star alongside the serve in a new campaign film, in which he orders the perfect Old Fashioned. It’s a glass raised to moments that deserve more intention.

And, to further complement the collaboration with Laviscount, Maker’s Mark has partnered with Hawksmoor to offer a custom summer-style Old Fashioned cocktail: the Kentucky Sunrise, made with Maker’s Mark, white cacao and peach, and finished with a lemon twist. The serve will be available across the steakhouse’s 11 London, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh restaurants until Father’s Day on June 21, so book a table at Hawksmoor now to ensure you don’t miss out.

“There’s something special about going to a great bar, being with good company and taking a moment to enjoy it properly,” says Laviscount. “We compromise on little things all day, so when you do get that moment to stop, you want it to feel like it's all worth it. For me, that’s a Maker’s Mark Old Fashioned: simple ingredients, done properly, with real character.”

When Gentleman’s Journal sat down with Laviscount for a quick-fire question round across the bar, the actor doubled down on his affection for the cocktail. “There’s a reason classics stick around,” he said. Elsewhere in our conversation, the actor revealed that he’ll always choose Paris as his favourite international city to visit, that he’s taken up journalling in recent years, and that time with family remains one thing he refuses to compromise on.

Maker’s Mark, fittingly, also remains a family affair. Rob Samuels — the brand’s managing director and an eighth-generation whisky maker — says the company still works to the standards laid down by his grandparents more than seventy years ago. Every bottle is still hand-dipped in the brand’s signature red wax; every barrel rotated by hand and aged to taste rather than timetable.

“Lucien Laviscount captures that same spirit,” he adds. “Of being uncompromising about things that matter — from time spent intentionally with friends, to the way a great Old Fashioned cocktail is crafted and served."

In Hawksmoor — yet another believer in doing things properly, however long it may take — both Maker’s Mark and Laviscount have found a perfect scene partner. Fine whisky. Good steak. Proper conversation. And a reminder that it’s always worth doing things with intention.