Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey Review
By Richard Thomas
Average Rating: B-
It’s hard to understate the importance of Marker’s Mark, because either the revival of interest in premium, craft bourbons would have been much delayed or might not have taken place altogether. “Maker’s” was a small batch bourbon before small batches were in vogue, and thus the trailblazer that achieved real success and international recognition. Maker’s Mark was also the first label to diversify on a large scale, hawking everything from barbecue sauce to coffee and to turn its Loretto, Kentucky distillery into a real tourist destination. Truly, the T.W. Samuels family did the world a favor when they bought the old Burks’ Distillery in 1954, and started bottling Maker’s Mark bourbon whiskey in 1958. Even though Maker’s is now somewhat overshadowed by the better craft bourbons that followed it, it remains a fine, iconic label in Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
The Bourbon
Maker’s Mark has one of the most recognizable presentations of any whiskey in the world, and definitely the most recognizable of any Kentucky bourbon. The neck of Marker’s square-based bottle is dipped in red wax to seal the stopper, creating the best-known image of bourbon whiskey. People who have never heard of Elijah Craig know about Maker’s Mark and its red wax. The coloring of the whiskey is amber-gold.
The distinctive style of Maker’s Mark starts with its mash recipe, which replaces rye with larger portions of barley and winter wheat. While Maker’s is mostly corn, just like all bourbon whiskey, the lack of any rye in the mash is still unusual and was almost unique in the 1950s. Maker’s is also odd in that it is not aged for any specified length of time past the minimum two years mandated by Federal law. The whiskey goes from the still into the charred oak barrels, and those barrels are rotated about the aging warehouse during the year to take maximum advantage of temperature differences in the building (another odd touch from Maker’s Mark) and improve the consistency of the aging process. The barrels are periodically sampled, and when taster decides a barrel is ready, it is pulled off the shelf and sent down to bottling. After filtering and blending, Maker’s Mark is bottled at 90 proof (45%).
The Maker’s Mark experience is noted mostly for its sweetness, which was another departure from old school bourbon-making at the time. The nose is fruity with hints of caramel, while the palate is thickly sweet, like molasses. The whiskey goes down with a smooth finish. Overall, it’s a pleasant, simple bourbon that is easy for anyone to enjoy, which goes a long way to explaining Maker’s continuing popularity.
Addendum by S.D. Peters
In the decanter Maker’s Mark at first brings to mind William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just To Say”. It’s carmine hue, which shows off well in the glass, is similar to Casselman plums, and suggests a summer sweetness that the nose confirms. Toffee plays about the edges of mellow, vanilla-infused summer fruit, charged with a hint of ozone and a dash of pine needles.
If those notes seem incongruous in print, they make perfect (though peculiar), sense after a taste. The medium body glides smoothly over the tongue, drawing out a bouquet of plum, ripening nectarine, and white chocolate. Take a languid, drawn-in breath as the long finish settles, and a passing sensation of thyme invokes the scent of a thundershower just-passed through an ancient forest.
Maker’s Mark is an easy Bourbon to enjoy, and a great “starter whiskey”. Inclined to imbibe, but put-off by the spicier notes rye imparts to most Bourbon mashbills? Then pour yourself a glass of Maker’s Mark and let it mellow on the rocks for a spell. I think you’ll also taste the poetry.
Price Tag
The standard 750ml bottle of Maker’s Mark often goes for less than $20 on store shelves, and should usually be priced below $25 in the United States, variations in state liquor taxes permitting.
I love the “Cocktail Party” Commercial.
This is pound for pound the best Bourbon!
[…]
If this guy thinks Maker’s is D+, he must be that lucky billionaire who gargles every morning with Weller 12.
One thing “Whiskey Lover” didn’t know, even with all of his “expertise,” is that Elijah Craig 12 Year Old was discontinued more than a year ago. Another thing he didn’t know is that it’s easy for a site admin to see who is who in the comments, so hiding behind fakery doesn’t work. And the last thing he didn’t know is that we have a zero tolerance policy for bigoted trolling.
Good to see you Gadfly. It’s been a while.
I just didn’t see anything worth my input! When you’ve got people like Valerie B. and Sam Komlenic commenting, what is there to gadfly?
But that douche? He read like a snake that slithered out of Reddit for sure. It didn’t take him long to show his colors either, did it?
There are two types of people people in that network of whiskey subs on Reddit: hairy assholes drooling brown or those who haven’t realized yet that they are surrounded by said assholes.
I realized what the bad smell was and left.
I’ve been ruminating on what whiskey to try next, so I’ve looked up some reviews for – among others – Maker’s Mark. According to short consumer reviews published on another site (not Reddit, God no), Beam Suntory recently reduced MM’s age to four years, meaning a drastic drop in quality.
Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor?
It’s doubtful. Very doubtful, in fact.
I would always be careful in believing something an anonymous or could-be anonymous person posts about such things, given that toxic nerds are given to creating and repeating disinformation, and whiskey has a lot of toxic nerds. As recently as last year, I was told by folks at the distillery it was still about six years old, give or take. Maker’s isn’t a company with a reputation for saying this and doing something else.
Considering that Maker’s has been on allocation to at least some extent for more than a decade, and the only time they tried to address that was by cutting the proof rather than the age, I doubt very much they feel any pressure to expand supply by cutting on maturation. That is especially doubtful in view of how six years isn’t really that long a time in bourbon aging, and the company has expanded production twice in recent years. Also, Maker’s has a lot invested in barrel rotation to control their maturation process; lopping two years off that process would be a much bigger move than it looks to some dude with a keyboard.
Thank you kindly.
I was getting kind of worried after the cr@pification of Jim Beam Black Label, but certainly, doing the same to Maker’s Mark wouldn’t make any sense. Reckon I’ll be getting a bottle soon.
As for anonymous neckbearded nerds, I definitely noticed they tend to claim outlandish things on those sites. Examples are too numerous to list. For some reason, whiskey and rum seem to have a high percentage of toxic snobs.
It’s almost like having a (real) name and a face attached to their opinions makes people more honest.
Oh yes. Jim Beam Black is more straightforward than toxic nerds ruminating on a forum with zero evidence, not even so much as a claim of a blind taste test. They took the age statement off Jim Beam Black, so it’s not surprising what went into the bottles changed along with it. Ditto for every other expression that went from age statement to no age statement (NAS).
This might sound like sacrilege, but at times, when flavours sweet and spicy mix just so, its taste reminds me of the dilled, pickled cucumbers my grandmother used to make.
Aside from that, I think I prefer rye-heavy bourbons, but I’ll try Maker’s 46 and possibly the Barrel Strength before making a judgement on that.