Maker's Mark 101

I've had this before and remember liking this, but now have a bottle for my birthday for a proper rating. I think having a standard 80 proof entry, barrel strength entry, and now a 101 bottle is a huge, obvious copy from Wild Turkey, and ultimately unnecessary in the end anyway. The flavor profiles are different enough, sure, but just experimenting with the amount of water you add to your flagship bourbon seems like a noticeable cash grab. The color is pretty moderate, and even somewhat darker than the typical 80 proof version, where I wasn't expecting to see such a difference. The scent has quite a bit of citrus and some lesser florality to it, but is not bright due to the oak also playing in. Chocolate covered orange peels is a specific note I'm getting, with great vanilla and a little less caramel from the respectable barrels. Upon first taste, it's much more evident that this is a wheated bourbon, much more so than the original. The high sweetness is the initial flavor, but it's not sugary like concentrated corn can be. The oak comes through next, both with the deeper notes from the char, but also a good baseline wood essence. There's a small amount of citrus here, but not as much as was on the nose. The finish is mild to medium, with the oak leading the charge. For talking shit on the choice of 101 proof, this is honestly a perfect proof to represent Maker's Mark. As with most iterations of higher proof flagship whiskeys, I believe this should be the typical purchase if you wanted Maker's Mark, because the flavors come through so much better than the watery 80 proof, but is still very approachable for novices. In the end, it's not very unique, but is tasty; as a gift, there's no argument here, but to purchase for myself, I can see me having a pretty hard line on how it should be priced.

Nose - salted caramel, cocoa, vanilla, brown sugar, honey, cherry, apple, pecan, cinnamon, soft grain, fresh oak, grass, black pepper, mint, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - cherry, apple, prepared caramel, vanilla, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, grass, cocoa, mint, pecan, grainy oak, black pepper, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with caramel, baking spice, and earthy mint flavors. Based on the positive community impressions, I purchased this bottle of Maker’s Mark, a brand that I’ve never particularly liked. While the 46 bourbon and wood finishing offerings are reasonably serviceable, I find the standard offering to be rather subpar. Right off the bat, this is much more interesting than its diluted sibling. The caramel is strong with this one. Sweet, salted caramel. Apple and cherry also appear, which are rounded out by cocoa, baking spices, and youthful, grassy, oaky notes. Overall, while this is absolutely a step up from the standard offering, I don’t think it’s anything special. The aromas and flavors are punchier and more well developed. However, I wish it were aged a bit longer. The youthful graininess is front and center and ethanol is rather strong on the nose. I bet older aged Maker’s Mark would be pretty tasty, but alas, we may never know. I’m split between rating this one a 3.0 or 3.5. Given its very affordable $40 price point, I’ll err on the high side. If you like young, wheated bourbons or standard Maker’s Mark, this is probably for you. While I’m not disappointed I bought the bottle, I probably won’t buy another.

I haven't been posting for a while - not because of any near-death experience, but simply because I happened to find this at the local ABC, and was obsessed with making it taste 101, just like I did for Maker's 46. I don't much care for Maker's Mark (Maker's 46 only fixed the problems of the entry level), so will this carry it even further and pull some sort of "Four Roses hat trick"? Let's find out! The nose has smoked maple and chocolate walnut fudge, with a hint of chalk. The entry is spicy, and not too sweet. The dark chocolate continues with nutmeg and excessive clove (I'm guessing from heavy char), to counter any sweetness long before it gets too prominent. It finishes in peanut brittle territory, which I get from other Maker's products, but don't particularly like. All I can say definitively is that this is easily the best out of the three expressions that I've tried. While I'm now curious about the cask strength, I can't see myself going out of the way to purchase it anytime soon. Maker's 101 is marketed as a "holiday release to share with family", etc. and I can understand that from the (somewhat disjointed) warm spices and dessert notes. I therefore consider opening this bottle early a bit like opening and playing with a Christmas gift discovered in the closet; continuing with that analogy, I will now quietly tuck it away again until the holidays, when I will bring some in a flask to share at Thanksgiving dinner as intended. The ball is now in your court, MM; release a "Maker's 191" (the theoretical ABV limit) sometime before my 200th review...