Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked

Good caramel smell. Bitey first taste. Small burn and slight smoky aftertaste.

So much better than OG. A lot more sweetness and less burn even though it’s stronger.

Bought at Sam’s club on great discount - Have been wanting to try for a while! Color - a nice medium amber. Nose - very strong sweet vanilla and woody oak notes, butterscotch undertones Taste - different! A sweet start that rolls into a longer, toasted oak, then resides into lingering woody flavors. Nutmeg and some nuttier tones also present. Upon reading other reviews - spice at the forefront is noticeable and the maple syrupy ending is there. But this review is perfect: “toasted coconut and baking spice laden oak, as well as more creamy vanilla. A short finish offers astringent oak, vanilla”

Ever since I had my first taste of the standard Maker's Mark bourbon, I've wanted to try the other expressions the distillery produces, and I've now started on that process. The Maker's 46 is 94 proof, ran me $22.99 for a 375ml bottle, and has the standard Maker's Mark mash bill - 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% barley. The color in the glass is reddish gold, and the legs form very slowly, begin to run simultaneously, and are close together. NOSE: First there's a warm mustiness, then alcohol comes on strongly, followed by vanilla, floral, and candy corn notes. TASTE: The first note is a very strong vanilla, almost as though I were drinking from a bottle of vanilla. The alcohol is strong - stronger than the Balcones Lineage I had last night, which is the same proof. Next come notes of brown sugar, wood (not the oak I'm used to, so it must be the French oak influence), and fire-roasted corn. The mouthfeel of this whisky has a grainy creaminess. FINISH: Long, with alcohol that fades away leaving only a standard American oakiness. Lately it seems that everything I try I like better than Maker's Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky. It's not that I think the standard Maker's Mark is bad - on the contrary, I think it's very good. It's just that I seem to be in a run of even better whiskies. Though this one might be a bit pricy for me as a regular thing, it is both different from, and better than, the regular Maker's Mark bourbon.

A lot of spice and burn. Slightly too much for me at this point in my whiskey drinking experience, but overall it's the vanilla and berry notes that keep me drinking. Once the bottle is finished I don't think I'll replace it in my collection.

Vanilla smell, vanilla taste. Sweet, warm. Classic bourbon. Not much of a jump from the classic makers. Sweet scent with ice.