Maker's Mark is a world-famous bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky. The brand is known for its red wax seal, which is said to be applied by hand to each bottle.
A brilliant whisky (note: Maker's Mark is one of just a few distilleries in the US to spell whisky sans the "e"!) it is made to a mashbill first developed by Bill Samuels Sr, which uses red winter wheat instead of rye. The result, therefore, can be described as a "wheated bourbon", and it's all the more smooth and creamy because of it!
Fruity and rich. There are lovely notes of spiced honey and mixed peels, a little malmsey, hazelnut and a touch of cut fruit with toasty oak providing a backbone.
Rich and full. There are notes of rye and spice, barley malt, a little nut oil with butterscotch and vanilla.
Quite sweet with butterscotch and dry oak spice.
The best of them all. Quality, bombastic, yet soft.
Since I have tried it,I have been hooked on it,in my opinion,the best there is,that's it.
Almost all bourbons are distilled at a much higher proof than they end up being bottled at. When barrels of a batch have finished ageing they go through a watering down process to bring the alcohol content down, otherwise every whiskey we see in the shops would be upwards of 60%. Makers Mark distil their bourbon lower than most other distillers but that percentage will still be higher than the 45% it ends up being bottled at. Anyway I think Makers Mark is a brilliant bourbon for it's price range. If you want even more bang for your buck though, go Benchmark Old No.8 every time.
Not from Louisville like the Champ, but close enough. Like the Champ, it's the Greatest of All Time. Unsurpassingly smooth, just sweet enough, with all the flavor at the front of the tongue where it belongs. Completely lacking in that musty-wood-and-dead-spiders character most every other bourbon suffers from; on the other hand, clearly a labor of love and not a product of the chemist's lab like many of its imitators (looking at you, Woodford Reserve). If you have never enjoyed whisky, this is a whisky you can entrust with your tastebuds. If you are a connoisseur, admit it -- this is the bourbon that made bourbon what it is today.
Sleek, luxurious and seamless with plenty of muscle. Does EXACTLY what you want it to when you want, oozes quality and commitment. If there is a downside, it is precisely that: all boxes checked, certainly, but indefinables like 'character'...? Thank you, please drive through!
