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...