Maker’s Mark
“Give me a bourbon that won’t blow my ears off”
This iconic bourbon was born near Loretto, Kentucky in 1958 after production had started four years earlier. Famously marketed in the 1960’s and 70’s with the tagline 'it tastes expensive…. and is'. America’s only handmade bourbon whisky. Each batch is less than 19 barrels and then made using the sour-mash method. Undoubtedly it is a small batch bourbon whisky without shouting about it. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice there is no ‘e’ in the word ‘whisky’, which is a nod to the creators Scottish ancestry.
In 2013, when owned by Beam Inc. the company made industry headlines by announcing that they were going to reduce the ABV of the bourbon from 45% to 42%, thus enabling it to increase its inventory by a remarkable 6%...... Cue mass hysteria from it's fans and huge amounts of negative feedback. Remarkably, Beam Inc. changed their minds amid this customer outrage. An unusual victory for bourbon drinkers with the seemingly continuous dropping of age statements (sometimes preceded by moving the age statement on the bottle firstly from the front to the back label) a now commonplace occurrence.
There is absolutely nothing bad about this bourbon, it is of superb quality, around about 6 years of age, the price is great and if this is an indication of eminence, it is exactly the same mash-bill as the Pappy Van Winkle’s. This is a cracking house bourbon, unmistakable bourbon notes throughout, sweet caramel, vanilla creams and fruity richness with notes of rye and spice. Butterscotch ice-cream if that is a thing. If it's not, it should be.
The dripping red wax is one of the most recognisable bourbon trademarks of all time and even to this day they are hand dipped, with the production line capable of dipping an impressive 125 bottles every minute. The bourbon inside is always the same but there are many collectors editions of the wax topped bottles using white, blue and green colouring. They commemorate many sporting celebrities including horses, basketball and American football personalities. Perhaps one day there may be one for the Gents…
