Maker's Mark Cask Strength

Color: Light golden honey brown. Nose: Lovely fruit . . . Apples, pears. Flowering fruit trees. New-mown grass receding. Vanilla and butterscotch. Light butter. Tangerine. Rich and complex. Oriental/musk cologne. Slight whiff of oak/old boxes. Praline! Water releases some ethanol and reveals some greenery: corn husks and beans. Mouth: Cigar boxes. Mellow burn of alcohol (different from, but evocative of rye spiciness in this wheated bourbon). Dry cereal grain. The taste is much less complex than the wonderful nose. Water eases the burn, but does nothing to aid the rather one-dimensional flavor portfolio. Overall very disappointing. In a cocktail: Tried in a mint julep. Made for some bitter ugliness. Do not recommend. In a whiskey sour . . . so so.

Great value

Batch 21-02, 110.4 proof On the nose: Vanilla, cherry, orange and eucalyptus On the palate: vanilla, light spice, banana, red fruit, tropical fruit and oak. Drinks a little hot though. Neat, it’s fine. But makes the best old fashioned I’ve ever had!