American Whiskey Review #24: Maker’s Mark

Distillery: Marker’s Mark

Region: Kentucky

Price: $1 for a 50 mL mini

ABV: 45%

Age: NAS

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

This is the seventeenth in my Countdown to Christmas series where I’ll be posting a review a day until Christmas. You can find the entire series here.

Nose: It starts off with a whiff of milk chocolate followed by a little bit of cherry and a bit of orange.

Palate: This is clearly a really young whisky and it shows. It is hot, far hotter than it should be. Once you get past the heat a little though, there’s a really nice and pleasant note of fresh baked bread along with some vanilla.

Finish: Pretty short. Before it’s gone though, you get a bit of a cherry and some new oak.

Conclusion: I have to say, I love Maker’s Mark’s dedication to their wax seals. Even this little mini has it! The nose is probably the best thing about this whisky, it smells delightful with the chocolate along with some fruit. The palate is hot, and the bread notes hides a little bit due to it. The finish is too short. Still, for an entry level dram, it’s pretty decent though a few more years in the barrel might do this wonders. Would I buy a bottle? No, but I’ll definitely be trying others from this distillery.

Final Score: 70.

American review #24, Bourbon Review #20, Whisky Network Review #183

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.