🥃Review #45: Maker's Mark 46 French Oaked Bourbon

Maker's Mark No 46 French Oaked Bourbon in front of some plants and a wood round

Maker's Mark 46, first released in 2010, is the second longest tenured expression from Suntory's wheat powerhouse, differentiated from that original 1958 product by proof and the addition of a French Oak finishing period. The name comes from the Independent Stave Company's "Stave Profile 46". The exact specifications of that product are not publicly available, but we know that the company sources oak from the Vosges and Centre regions, known for their straight, fine-grained wood. Thanks to the forest management provided by the French state, the trees in these regions tend to be taller, straighter and older on average. They do source some timber from other specific forests, such as Fontainebleau, Bertranges, Tronçais, Chantilly and Berce, but it is likely that a significant demand order comes from the main two regions if the brand is still sourcing from Independent Stave. In theory, the addition of these staves for finishing should produce a thicker and more nuanced mouthfeel, potentially benefitting from the different chemical composition of the French oak. This Maker's Mark iteration was created by Bill Samuels Jr. to honor his father's legacy and aversion to to bitterness.

🛒Sourced: $29.99 - Tower Package, GA 750ml - About five dollars more than the standard Maker's Mark.

🧪Proof: 94 proof, 47% ABV - a slight bump up from the 90 proof flagship

🎨Color: R5 - A ruddy amber, orange brown, a little darker than the OG Maker's

🥔Mash Bill & Production: 70% Corn, 16% Red Winter Wheat, 14% Barley

Maker's uses a Level 3 barrel char on wood seasoned for 8-12 months. They are also one of the few companies to still practice barrel rotation to mitigate impacts of temperature variation between floors by moving barrels throughout the rickhouses during the aging process. No age statement but Maker's Mark is typically aged between 6-8 years, assuming this finished iteration is a smidge older. Maker's proports itself as "small batch" which does not have a regulatory definition. The brand has further stated that their internal definition is "1,000 gallons or less (20 barrels) from a mash bill of around 200 bushels of grain".

Preparation is the same as the standard Maker's Mark other than the addition of 10 heavily seared French Oak staves that are slotted into the barrel before it is moved to finish aging in their limestone cellars. The duration of this finishing process is not stated but likely is between 2-6 months (update: a Reddit user mentioned that Maker's Mark typically has a period of about 9-weeks for their wood finishing).

A bottle of Maker's Mark being hand-dipped in Red Wax

Bottles of Maker's Mark are hand dipped in red wax to this day. Look for "Slam Dunks", bottles with more than the standard amount of wax!

👃Nose: Approachable vanilla with a sudden clobbering of caramel that mellows into spice, mostly nutmeg for me. A clean, three-phase nose courtesy of the caramel avalanche.

😜Palate: True to nose, though I get the caramel before the vanilla. Towards the thick end of medium viscosity. Palate opens up into butterscotch and baking spice, but a little bit of carbon starts to creep into the mix, reminding me of charcoal. Not unpleasant but it always confuses my tongue a bit and serves to muddle the spices somewhat.

💦Finish: Short in flavor but with a pleasing amount of chest heat, not too much not too little. It's an initial puff of creme brulée that quickly fades.

🏆 Overall: 6.5/10 - Very Good - A step up from the standard Marker's Mark, No. 46 offers additional depth and body though I expect it to be a good deal more polarizing. I like it, but have friends that both love and hate it; worth trying at least once at this price. What I describe as carbon or coal definitely sticks out from what is otherwise a very sweet bourbon in line with its wheated roots. I am nevertheless drawn to the cleanly demarcated nose and evolving palate. It doesn't reach the heights of the standard Maker's Cask Strength which has a massive leap in the quality of its finish. That aside, I will have to try the No. 46 at cask strength at some point (update: I did).

💵Would buy again? Sure, I can see myself coming back to this bottle from time to time.

⚖️Rating Scale:

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