Maker’s Mark 46 Bourbon Whiskey Review And Tasting Notes
Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon whiskey is a strong, powerful, yet soft spirit: it caresses your palate with a velvety flavor and an infinity of spices.
In practice, it is the version of the entry-level Maker’s Mark that is bottled cask strength in American white oak barrels with the addition of unique ultra-spicy staves that increase the sensations of caramel and vanilla.
In practice, it is a base on steroids that hits hard but does not have a bit of austerity, and if we want, this is its great limit: a slightly redundant and predictable sweetness, when instead, a touch of extra panache would not have tasted. Take the triad of caramel, vanilla, and cherries in alcohol, raise them to maximum power, and dip them in a sea of burnt caramel.
Don’t get us wrong; it is an excellent wheat bourbon. It will not disappoint you, but very unbalanced and stylized, with this spiciness that brings the gustatory and aromatic profile to a paroxysm that loses clarity along the way.
As you well know, in the mash bill Maker’s Mark, there is no rye, but only corn, barley, and wheat instead of rye, so it lacks that mentholated and pungent touch given by rye, but it pushes even more on sweetness.
How is Maker’s Mark 46 bourbon whiskey made?
This sumptuous distillate was born in 2010, as a new edition, after years of production of the simple Maker’s Mark, but basically, the differences concern aging in wood and alcohol content.
On a practical level of mash bill, fermentation and distillation are identical. In terms of flavors and aromas, they are similar but of different intensity and thickness.
The proportions of cereals are the same, but the distillate is aged in American oak barrels made with a mixture of different woods, characterized by the presence of 10 staves of French oak, used to amplify the symphony of caramel, banana chocolate bread, and vanilla.
Take the base and pump it up with an exaggerated make-up: this is the juice of the story. The declared alcohol content is 47 degrees alcohol.
Organoleptic characteristics
The nose is intense, bold, and full of ripe red fruit, butter, vanilla, honey, burnt caramel, and popcorn. It has warmth and subtle returns of flowers, but it tires immediately to attack you with its baroque power.
On the palate, it hits hard, it is vehement on the palate, it seduces you with soft notes of chocolate and pudding, but don’t even think about a second to tannins or harsh flavors: it wants to be velvety and smooth at any cost.
Of course, the heat makes it particularly incisive, nevertheless, it is enjoyable even without water. If you add a spoonful of fresh water, more delicate and floral aromas emerge, but already in this way, it is very legible and easy to drink. It burns in the belly but not in the throat.
Overall, you may not like it even if you are a bourbon lover: it relies on creamy and whimsy flavors; character and quality are not in question. It has only one defect: a bit of slowness, intricacy, and stillness that does not want to leave the track of sweetness, but it is a lack of momentum, certainly not thickness.
Price
45-48 euros: it’s ok. It’s justified by painstaking processing and higher alcohol content than the regular Maker. We’ve been harsh in pointing out the flaws, but it’s not bad.
What cocktail to make with the Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Boulevardier, Mint Julep, Sazerac, Godfather, Old Pal, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Toronto, Penicillin.
Food Pairings
Chocolate cupcakes, cheesecakes, ciambella, Tiramisù and chocolate salami.