Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2022 BRT-01

Fresh off my taste of BRT-02, this BRT-01 smells a fair bit brighter. Gone are the notes of molasses. This one smells... vibrant somehow. Baking spices with cherries ( but not over ripened ) and a hint of the butterscotch that was also present in BRT-02 fills your nose. The taste brings you down a wonderfully sweet, tart and complex road. You get a little bit of toasted spice at first, think slightly charred cinnamon sticks. That opens up to wonderfully bright and slightly tart cherries. Linking the taste and finish is that familiar spice but this time accompanied by a slight hint of brown sugar. The finish brings it all together. I still taste the tartness from mid taste but with a bit of tongue prickle from spice. Its long lasting and satisfying. Maker's Mark Wood Finishing series still ( in my humble opinion ) stand as some of the best bourbons you can buy at a reasonable price. Well... if you buy them at retail price. But right now, BRT-01 and BRT-02 are finally hitting shelves in California and have been readily available in other parts of the country for weeks. Well worth the price of admission. Between the two? BRT-01 is brighter, livelier and more fun than BRT-02 which focuses on darker, sweet notes. Hard to pick between the two but my vote goes toward BRT-01 as the better of the two.

Sweet and woody, lots of Werther’s.

Butterscotch werthers. So damn sweet and creamy. Incredible butterscotch, maybe the most forward butterscotch that I’ve ever tasted and I love it

One of my favorites. The French Oak is soft, sweet, and flavorful. Easy to drink but not boring at all.

Smoother and more butterscotch than BRT-02. I felt it had a little less heat and was more palatable, little bit of fruit for sure.

Tasting was a neck pour neat in glencairn, no water added. Don’t always like to review a neck pour, but this one is impressive. Fully expect it to open up more. Nose - is fantastic, heavy caramel and maple, little bit of butterscotch, apple, raisin, maybe a little cotton candy, and oak. I could smell it as I was pouring. There’s absolutely no ethanol coming off of it. I do get a breakfast vibe with a maple bacon, syrup and pancakes or waffles. Great nose! Palate - pretty impressed with the palate as well. Palate goes for a little bit of a ride, it went sweet to spicy back to sweet. Definitely caramel and maple on the front end. I do often pick up apple on Makers Mark products and I do here as well but not quite as prominent as other pours. Get a little bit of a sweet bread, and a dark fruit, keep going back to raisin, mid palate cinnamon red hot is standing out, get oak and some barrel char, then the maple starts to creep back in as it finishes. Finish - For me this hung on quite a bit. Not a super complex finish but I do get oak, little bit of leather, get hints of the maple and apple, and then drys out a little but not in an unpleasant way. Immensely enjoyed the first pour. That’s maybe a dangerously crushable 54.7%, little to no burn, nice viscosity. For some the palate may not pack the punch the nose is giving off, but as this opens up I could see that changing. By no means is the palate bad, but the nose is strong. No question this is a buy it if you see it. Not a fan of secondary prices, who is right? This I’d consider going up to a $100 for though. Cheers!

Sweet licorice nose, very butterscotch-y. Pallet: much more viscous than BRT-02. Not too sweet, but great caramel flavor with a slight hint of vanilla. More wood grain character, almost like you can taste the wheat, like bread, not toast, and cereal. Hints of cherry cordial. Longer finish on this one than 02, guessing more tannins. The body is more enjoyable with the larger temperature swings, brings out more oak flavors.