Makers Mark: Cellar Aged 2023 (USA: Bourbon: 11 Year: 57.85 % ABV)
Visual: Very Dark bronzed coloured body. Slow thick puckering comes from the spirit with one or two faster streaks.
Nose: Light black pepper. Sticky honey. Sticky aroma in general. Rye crackers. Strong, but less alcohol than expected. Toffee. Crunchy nut cornflakes. Sulphur touch. Tar. Olives. Water adds more black pepper. Makes more open. Stewed fruit – especially apricot.
Body: Strong alcohol. Sticky honey. Sticky mouthfeel. Drying. Toffee. Dry oak. Smooth front, lightly oily. Nutty. Crunchy nut cornflakes. Shreddies. Black olives. Water makes sweeter. Apricot. Dried fruit sugars. White grapes. Light menthol.
Finish: Brown bread. White and black pepper. Dry fudge. Bran flakes and Shreddies. Slightly bitter. Black olives. Water adds white grapes.
Conclusion: Neat this is a sticky beast, even somehow in the aroma this feels sticky despite no real actual tactile presence. It here has the expected cereals, honey, toffee, vanilla and rye crackers (and yes I know this isn’t a rye whiskey, I just always seem to get these notes with a lot of bourbons, leave me alone) of Makers Mark, just in a far bigger setting. Somehow despite the very incredibly high alcohol it doesn’t feel burning. Like, you feel the alcohol, just not painfully so. The body is more of that stickiness mentioned as a alcohol tell rather than any burning or similar give away (ok, well there is one other alcohol give away, but we will get to that in a moment)
Like this it is nice, just not significantly better than Standard Makers mark, just bigger and robust as hell. It is also very drying, that other alcohol tell I referenced, even the sweet notes come across as drying on the tongue. Somehow being this drying does not hurt it, just makes you really salivate and anticipate your next sip.
What you do have added is a slight sulphur, and tarriness that gets more evident as you let the whisky air, and a savoury olive note that helps the impression of weight this whiskey brings
A touch of water, and not that much is needed even, makes this excellent. Still big and cereal led it now has stewed note fruit sweetness and against a dry vanilla and toffee pushing body. Like this is is remarkably well balanced between the stickiness, dryness, traditional Makers Mark cereals and extra sweetness.
More water gives you a drink that is still good but loses that huge body – which is a minus for me but may be a plus for you if you prefer a more gentle dram. Grab a bottle of this if you can get it anywhere near RRP, for 150 pounds for this quality bourbon it is a steal. I have a horrid feeling people may be flipping for higher these days though, which makes me sad.
I’d recommend definitely try it neat first, then add a drop of water, just take it lightly as it doesn’t need much.
Background: This I was very excited to get my hands out. Makers Mark was one of the drinks that got me through trips around America before craft beer got easy to get hold of, back in the day. I have had a soft spot for it since. So when I got the chance to get hold of this mix of 11 and 12 year old Makers mark at cask strength I was very excited. While not cheap at 150 odd pounds, compared to a lot of aged bourbon it was reasonably priced. Due to a mix of demand, and how much liquid is lost to the angels share in warmer USA climes aged bourbon can get very expensive. Which is why, when I heard that the Whisky Shop had this in I instantly grabbed a bottle. Not much else to add, since I was revisiting an old friend in Makers Mark but in a new form I figured Miracle Of Sound’s Remastered song collection was thematically appropriate as background music.