Review #223 - Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, out of Loretto, Kentucky, is one of the best known wheated bourbons. It specifically uses red winter wheat in its mashbill, replacing the rye that adds spice to many other bourbons. The mashbill in its entirety is 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley.
This bottle and brand are famous for the red wax seal on the top of the bottle - each is dipped at the distillery, making each bottle slightly unique.
Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Current Locally Available Price: USD 20 (2024)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 45% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 2 years; bottles at 60%, 100%, and 50% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Nice and mellow, not too sweet - a bit toasty and oaky. Spicy notes of clove, imitation vanilla, and wood char mix with sweeter scents like caramel, wood sugar, and just a hint of a dark fruit like prune. Slightly simple and grainy, and a little earthy at times.
Palate: Decently oaky, with slightly astringent tannins, a drying mouthfeel, but also some sweeter vanilla tones. The mouthfeel is medium-thin, and it brings soft grains, sweet brown sugar, hints of pepper, and a bit of caramel; later, that soft earthy note returns, paired with more dry oak.
Finish: Medium-short, quite soft with casual warmth and more balanced oak. Soft caramel, nutmeg, and saccharine maple syrup make up most of the flavor now; in the aftertaste, there's a hint of anise spice.
Final Note: Nicely refined, but almost too much - it's quite soft and simple, and doesn't pack a ton of flavor. It is quite well balanced, with sweet and spice notes working in tandem, but in the end, it just lacks the more interesting flavors to take it to the next level. A decent casual sipper, and would be nice is a mellow mixed drink. The price is quite good around us, so this gets a great value score.
Our Average Rating: 5.7 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 8.18
