Who owns Maker's Mark? It remains one of my favorite bourbons for some reason. I think its one of the best for its price range. I think it beats Knob Creek (similar price) hands down.

I think doing bourbon right is kind of like doing wine right. It certainly takes more finesse than beer.

However the difficulty in mastering a craft seems orthogonal to whether its a corporation or a single guy doing it.

If anything... bourbon whiskey being brewed by guys who have been doing it forever implies that if you're a craft distillery... just keep distilling and perfecting your craft and you'll do just fine.