Maker's Mark Makes Its Mark (Again) With A Nifty Limited Edition Bourbon

There are plenty of ways for a distillery to create variations on its classic bourbon theme. Messing around with the aging process, the mashbill, and the ABV are just three. But only Maker’s Mark, to the best of my knowledge, messes around with wood staves. Now, this isn’t barrel finishing, the way, say, Angel’s Envy does it. This is putting individual barrel staves into a barrel already filled with whiskey, and seeing what happens. They started the ball rolling in 2010 with Maker’s 46, which is classic Maker’s finished with French and American oak staves, toasted and cooked to various degrees to emphasize specific flavor profiles — personally, I like it more than I like standard Maker’s Mark. They kept the ball rolling with their stave-finished Private Selection barrels, and last year they introduced the Wood Finishing Series, an annual limited edition run whose stave formula will change each year.

While last year’s debut in the Wood Finishing Series magnified the fruity notes found in Maker’s Mark, this year’s model — prosaically titled SE4 x PR5, after the two stave types used — plays up the vanilla and caramel notes. I tried it right after cracking open the bottle and found it dry and elegant, rather austere, with the vanilla pretty subdued and caramel, oak, and burnt sugar in the foreground. A couple of days later I tried it again and it had softened quite a bit, with vanilla sweetness playing a bigger role, the caramel grown richer, and the oakiness more mellow — all while maintaining that recognizable Maker’s core. To my palate, at least, the second sips were a definite improvement. And it doesn’t need water, even though it’s bottled at 55.4% ABV — in fact, it drinks a little too easy at that strength. Be sure to pace yourself.

Maker’s Mark 2020 Limited Release, as it seems to be officially called, is available from all the usual suspects at a most reasonable $60, assuming your favorite retailer hasn’t jacked up the price exponentially. If you find it at list price, it’s absolutely worth picking up.