It was nice to see this at the store as of late, mostly because I thought cask strength Maker's Mark (whether classic or 46) was a huge rarity. Not so, at least in this store's eyes, since this was not stored alongside their "rare section," and much more important, was priced at only $45! I know Maker's Mark already has plenty of brand recognition and has basically already peaked, but it's still shocking that you can purchase nearly every one of their products for less than some 2-year, 80 proof nonsense that just came on the market. I love the amount of specific information regarding the batch that is listed on the labels, which really contribute to a more homemade feel, despite the distillery itself feeling more like a factory (albeit with an beautiful campus) each time I go there. The proof and age here are just shy of being perfect in my book, but as I always say, you get what you pay for, and this is still an unbelievable bargain as it is. The hue here is definitely very deep, much darker than a golden brown and moving into maple territory. The legs are very sticky, and the nose begins strong and spicy, but not with the typical cinnamon or minty notes you would get from rye, instead more soft baking spices (think banana bread or carrot cake) that only full strength and well-aged wheat can offer. The age here is almost enough to take away any raw corn notes, instead letting the sweetness of the barrel emphasize the soft wheat flavors. The ethanol is present but not overpowering, and circles back to provide that phantom rye-like spiciness that you can't quite shake. The first tasting note that I get is surprisingly that of young corn/wheat mash, despite the fairly high age. The ethanol builds fairly quickly, but plateaus once it reaches its maximum. The raw grain flavor continues even as it builds around the gum line, with much smaller notes of bitter cacao and actual flowers (I don't like doing specifics, but there is a hint of what I attribute to chamomile here) trying to fight through. The finish is hot, but not burning and let's the last tasted note of toasted oak (notably no sweetness that was found in the nose) slowly fade out. The universal rule is unfortunately almost always true: you get what you pay for. The American whiskey market (or whisky, as I'm just now noticing Maker's Mark decided to go with on their label) understandably has a LOT of exceptions to this rule, but in this case, I knew something was too good to be true for this price point. Despite 7 years definitely not qualifying for a young bourbon, this still retains so much raw grain flavor, to the point where I've tasted mash directly from the fermentation tank that had similar flavors. It's not usual (especially for me) to dislike a cask strength version of anything as compared to its diluted counterpart, but save for the full and spicy body, this doesn't have many redeeming factors. That being said, the one time I tried cask strength 46 proved that it's really just the plain, unfinished Maker's Mark that never really had any character to begin with.