Distillery: Makers Mark
Proof: 110.6
Age: NAS
Mashbill: N/A
BACKGROUND: As a part of the new line of whiskeys coming out of Maker's Mark Distillery, this is the first batch of Maker’s Mark Cask Strength. Each cask strength release will have the batch number on the bottle, we speculate this was a move to keep up with the rest, but we’re always excited to see more expressions coming out of a staple distillery like Maker’s. After trying the wood finished series, I was definitely excited to give this a try.
NOSE: The nose opens with a beautiful combination of sweet and spicy, with light notes of apple, clementine, caramel, and brown sugar toying back and forth with earthy peppered oak notes. (23/25)
PALATE: The first thing you notice when trying this is the rich thick mouthfeel that costs your mouth with notes of caramelized brown sugar, honey, ginger, and caramel. On second sip the fruity flavors become more and more prevalent, showing notes of cherry and orange rinds. (32/40)
FINISH: As the sweet notes from the palate fade, the oaky spice comes back to the forefront growing spicier and spicy that inevitably goes back to a mellow oak leaving you begging for more. (23/25)
VALUE: For $35 this is an absolute must buy, loaded with the perfect amount of heat and sweet. (9/10)
Overall: 87/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: This bottle is absolutely delicious, and available for an amazing price. Loaded with bright sweet and hot notes, you almost forget just how high the proof is.
Slightly Better Whiskey: Stagg Jr. batch 12
Equal Whiskey: Bookers Pigskin Batch
Slightly Worse Whiskey: 1972 Full Proof
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
