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Maker's Mark 46

AVB

Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
Joined
Nov 14, 2003
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22,981
Maker's Mark 46 Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, Barrel Finished with oak staves, 750 ml, ~ $33-37, 94 proof, soon to be available nationwide.

Maker%27s%20Mark 46.JPG


Named for the 46th experimental version that Maker's Mark and Independent Stave came up with, 46 is the first new style Maker's in over 50 years. While the juice and the way it is initially made is exactly the same as the original Maker's it is later dumped into barrels that have a dozen (lightly toasted?) European oak staves mounted in them for an unspecified amount of time. The extra wood adds more vanillans, brown sugar flavors and spice. Usually rye is used to spice things up but this is another, albeit, more expensive way to achieve it.

The nose certainly has more brown sugar and caramel then the original along with a touch of cinnamon and cloves. First tasting is fairly smooth (considering it's 94 proof) with a good amount of oak and vanilla coming through. The finish is longer then the original and no longer has the citrus tones that the original did but is still sweet with a tang that could be a touch bitter or what you get when you bite a green apple. Not the apple flavor just the tang.

Overall, I feel this is a newer better Maker's that I do prefer over the original but at a mid thirties price point it won't become a regular pour at Casa AVB..
 
This sounds really good. Can't wait to try it. From what I've read, only 25,000 cases will be made available this year.
 
I'm surprised to see you review. It is appreciated though.

Nope, not a big Maker's fan to start with so I'm in no hurry to drop the cash on this one yet.

Jamie,
Total Wine has this for $29.99 plus tax.


 
Thanks for the review AVB! I was wondering about this one, and almost purchased it. I went with the Cragganmore 12 instead. I'll get one of these down the road I'm sure.
 
I thought you'd be all over this Dan (DePAsta) being right near the release point.
 
Great review, AVB. My experiences have been very similar

The nose might be about as close to perfect as it can get, IMHO.

I'm not so crazy about a strong oak flavor like some, so it's not my cup of, well, bourbon. I prefer bourbon neat, but I always like to drop in an ice cube when I first try something new. This seemed to diminish some of the other great flavors, but the oak stayed just as strong.

I've been hooked on only a couple of bourbons for the past several months (Buffalo Trace and Four Roses Small Batch), but the oak in 46 reminded me more of something from Heaven Hill... maybe a similar "oakiness" to Knob Creek??? Anyway, I'm sure it'll be a hit with most, but I'm afraid my bottle has migrated to the "visitor" shelf.
 
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