Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2021 FAE-01

Marker's Mark special edition bottles never seem to disappoint and this one is no different. A nice fruity zing mixed with the familiar sweet Maker's Mark flavors served up high proof. This one was a stand out in my book, and its a crime that it won't be readily available for years to come.

Deep copper color. The nose has dried cinnamon apple crisps, vanilla bean, dried figs, orange zest, lemon drop candy and sweet oak. Creamy mouthfeel with a good amount of heat. The palate has a heavy dose of sweet oak, with red apple peel, charred cinnamon stick, brown sugar caramelized over ripe plums, and a noticeable sea salt note at the back end that creates a nicely balanced sweet and savory character. The finish is long and warm, lots of oak, with more dark fruits and salted caramel. This is lovely, possibly less pure enjoyment than the SE4-PR5 release but much more depth and character. Maker's Mark has really knocked it out of the park with their last two Wood Finishing Series releases.

Rating: 14/23 N: Some spicy, kind of dusty wood comes through, along with a clear cherry wood scent (thin cherry mainly; fortunately, I don't smell mushroom), a bit of oiliness, some faint apricot, and a kick from the alcohol. There's sort of an Irish whiskey lightness going on here. P: It tastes like fairly young, characterless bourbon that had some lightly toasted cherry wood soaked in it at first. I get that bright but kind of thin mineral cherry flavor alongside that typical mushroom funk. I start to get a bit of glacé apricot after a while too, but the cherry and funky mushroom are more pronounced. There's definitely a big spiciness (lots of pepper with some lighter ginger, cinnamon, and clove) here as well. The mushroom funk brings out a little bit of oversteeped wood chip flavor from time to time. F: Thin cherry with mushroom, spice, and just kind of a light presence that belies the alcohol a bit. - Conclusion - I enjoy this decently, but I'm far from impressed. Aside from the apricot, this tastes like I took a decent, young bourbon that had been bottled at a highish proof (or perhaps just tossed some Everclear in) and let it sit for a bit in some lightly toasted cherry chips. This is too aggressive and thin in flavor with substantial flaws for me to recommend it. When the apricot comes through, this is very enjoyable; however, that is not the majority of my experience with it. The complexity is actually quite good at times, but the mushroom, alcohol, and thin cherry throw the balance off a lot. Oddly, this actually kind of reminds me of a spicier, less balanced, and less fruity Redbreast Cask Strength. That isn't to say that I would mistake this for an Irish whiskey, but that there are some notes in that direction. I can understand any rating down to about a 9. The balance is totally out of whack and there are some seriously off notes here. I treasure those moments of apricot and complexity enough to give this a somewhat higher rating though. Side by side, I find that this is pretty close to Old Tub (14) and Kings County Barrel Strength (13), possibly comparable to Wild Turkey 101 (14), and not quite good as Elijah Craig Small Batch (15). I've seriously considered ratings from 12 to 16 for this one and I've landed in the 13 to 14 range. I'll give it the 14. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing a sample of this.

👀 amber 🤥 Nutty oak, maple syrup, burnt butter, burnt caramel! 👅raw honey, blackberries, dried mangos, cinnamon, Ferrero Rocher 🧠light and airy pecan, slightly dry, nice long tobacco finish! 🏅 great solid pour! Makers Mark 2021 FAE01 does not disappoint it’s exactly what the distiller wanted nice fruit expression with the dark tobacco finish This is a buy!