Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series Bourbon Review (The Keepers Release – 2025)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

It all started in 2010 with inserting some French Oak staves into existing barrels of maturing bourbon to create Maker’s 46, but since then Maker’s Mark has taken the stave insert concept to its limits. The Loretto distillery erected the world’s only bourbon-aging cellar to further the production process for their stave insert program, designed their private barrel selection program around the concept, and have introduced a series of expressions built around the idea.

One of these is the Wood Finishing Series of one-shot limited edition bourbon. Since 2019, that series has progressed with starts and stops, and the latest from it is The Keeper’s Release. Lately the themes of each release has focused on different groups of employees at the distillery, and The Keeper’s Release is addressed to the warehouse hands. Maker’s Mark is unique in modern Kentucky bourbon-making for engaging in the practice of barrel rotation, where barrels are periodically moved from top to bottom of the rickhouses to ensure consistent outcomes in maturation.

The nature of the wood staves used for most entries in The Wood Finishing Series has been opaque, and this is no exception. Bourbons from this series are six to seven years old, and this release was bottled at 109.2 proof.

The Bourbon
Once in the glass, the bourbon has a light amber coloring, and the nose leads with that wood. Behind that is the scent of Juicy Fruit gum and nougat, with a sprinkling of cinnamon throughout. The flavor takes a full 90 degree turn, because it goes from that nose to what is actually a pretty normal bourbon profile: brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, with some nutty wood coming up on the back end. The finish rolls off that nutty wood, before returning to a cinnamon note as it fades away.

The Price
Officially, this is listed at $75 a bottle.