He even sped up the experimentation process by using bread instead of fermenting wheat, which led him to choose different grains than his family originally used! That choice made his bourbon much softer than the former recipe produced. Small Batch Bourbon is a high-rye content bourbon that is priced similarly to the Maker’s Mark 46 and is oh so delicious! It’s going to give you those great oaky notes that the Maker’s Mark 46 also has. Excerpt: The whole experience is a little flat and short of dazzling, but fans of the Maker’s program should find it at least an enjoyable diversion.

Excerpt: I feel that detail was missed when crafting this batch. It could make a reasonable mixer with its bold cinnamon notes and heat, but I would not recommend it as a daily or even special occasion sipper. The distillery and its associated brand were sold in 1981 to Hiram Walker & Sons, starting a long line of acquisitions which eventually ended in their current position with Beam Suntory in 2011. The company is the third largest manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (with the holding company located in Osaka, Japan). Product This is just right. There’s a good bit of caramel and vanilla to balance out the bitterness of the ginger beer, and there’s a touch of oak-y flavor that comes through to add some extra special something to the mix.Easy drinking with cinnamon and fruity sweetness; it is lovely. However, when you put the Maker’s 46 next to it, you can immediately taste what the extra time in the wood did to the whiskey. The bottle does not have that signature label from Margie’s creative mind. In fact, only the original Maker’s Mark utilizes that element of her design. Instead of the paper label, Maker’s Mark 46 is a clear bottle with the color of the Maker’s Mark label used as the color of the font. Maker’s Mark 46 is a newer addition to the Maker’s Mark family so it seems only fair to compare the two. While one is classic, tried, and true, the other is a more recent concoction and therefore open to more scruples than the original Maker’s Mark.

On the nose, I get a lot of salty caramel notes. I’m also getting the smells of oak from the charred, virgin American barrels that this bourbon is aged in for at least three years. Answer: I would not add a cube to the Maker’s Mark, it doesn’t need to be cooled down or to open up. A cube will dilute the Maker’s Mark and make it watery. The Maker’s Mark 46 however, definitely does well with an ice cube. I added a small cube to mine and it cooled the burn of that lingering spice I described in the tasting note Final Thoughts on Maker’s Mark vs. Maker’s Mark 46 When I first reviewed Maker’s 46, I stated that everything about it seems to be more refined than the standard Maker’s. A large part of this was the sophisticated looking bottle that broke away from the iconic square influence of Maker’s brand. With the new Maker’s Mark 46 bottle design being reined in and now sharing the same design as standard Maker’s, the bourbon stands out just a little bit less on the shelf from a purely aesthetic standpoint. Thankfully the bourbon inside remains exactly the same.Excerpt: I find none of the gritty, aluminum, aspartame notes from the standard 46 release, and this is a winner.

Sadly, the variety of Maker’s Mark bourbon available in South Africa is (currently) limited to these two releases only. So what is the difference between these two bottles? Full of vanilla, followed by sweet cherries and fresh red fruit. Cinnamon and toasted oak. A few drops of water brings butterscotch and warming nutmeg. Delicious and very easy drinking.The Maker’s Mark 46 bottle surely draws inspiration from its sister bourbon, Maker’s Mark. Margie’s design of the ‘S’ for Samuels and ‘IV’ for the fourth generation distiller that Bill Samuels Sr. believed he was is present on this bottle as well. Now we get to the distillation process! Maker’s Mark double-distills their bourbon in copper stills. Meanwhile, somewhere outdoors, their virgin American oak barrels are being aired out or “seasoned” for at least nine months to remove bitter-causing tannins that often happen in young wood. (Those bitter tannins can also make the whiskey bitter as it is aged.)

And what’s more iconic than the wax seal of a Maker’s Mark bottle? Margie chose that too, taking her inspiration from 19th-century cognac bottles, which she also used to design the bottle shape itself! The taste mostly delivers on that promise. It’s warm and delicious, and the caramel and vanilla flavors are front and center. I don’t particularly get the apple flavor from the nose, but there is some fruitiness in there that’s making things interesting. There’s also a significant bit of burn from the alcohol in here that slightly detracts from the enjoyment, but in general it’s pretty good. On Ice Starting at the nose, the initial wafts coming from the two glasses are pretty similar. Both have cherries, vanilla and oak. After a while, the Maker’s 46 shows a bolder, creamy wooden note on the nose. Looking at the Maker’s Mark, the vanilla and cherries continue on the palate.

FAQs

Legend has it that Margie hand-dipped the first Maker’s Mark bottle in her home-fryer for that signature wax seal. I’d say it was worth ruining the fryer! Maker’s Mark Specs Initially marketed as just Maker’s 46 Maker’s Mark 46 has been a staple of the Maker’s Mark brand for over 10 years now. Originally introduced as a more premium version of the standard Maker’s Mark, the product line has gone on to see a thriving private select program, a cask strength version, and serves as the base idea for the company’s annual wood finishing series. One of the key aspects was that Maker’s Mark 46 had a different bottle design versus the standard Marker’s Mark. Taller with broader shoulders the bottle prominently stated 46 and stood out on shelves, carrying an intriguing and premium feel to it. The cask-strength Maker’s Mark is then stored in the Maker’s Mark limestone cellar for nine weeks with ten seared virgin French oak staves. And those staves make all the difference! The name of Maker’s Mark 46 comes from the staves that worked best in this process: “Stave Profile No. 46”. The Maker’s Mark 46 Bottle Photo by Thea Engst On the nose, this bourbon is what I call in my notes a “butter bomb”. The nose is creamy, but it’s followed by wood and hints of cigar tobacco.