Maker's Mark Private Selection Kentucky Bourbon Whisky S1B3

At Maker's Mark, the wood-finishing series explores new, unique expressions of their signature whisky. Beginning as fully matured Maker's Mark® at cask strength, Private Selection is created by adding ten custom wood finishing staves to each barrel. It's then aged in their limestone cellar to extract a unique, flavorful taste profile. Participants in this special barrel program get their say in selecting these wooden staves. The finishing staves can be any combination of five flavor profiles, especially for this program. With 1,001 possible stave combinations, each expression of Private Selection has a customized finish and unique taste profile, yet undeniably Maker's Mark.

From Brian Schmidt, Topflight Series Panel Member:

The Maker's Mark® Private Selection process differs entirely from any other major bourbon distiller. Rather than pulling single barrels to make them taste similar through rotation and relocation, the team at Maker's created a collection of oak staves that can be added to a barrel for added flavor and to create custom recipes. Our Topflight Series tasting panel sampled five oak stave types: Baked American Pure, Seared French Cuvée, Maker's Mark 46, Roasted French Mendiant, and Toasted French Spice. We then selected a combination for our 10 stave recipe, which was returned to the barrel for several months to impart flavors. I'm very excited to report that what we thought would be extraordinary when we created it back in March 2022 is now outstanding. My predominant tasting notes for this pour have been a few food phrases. Chocolate Cherries Garcia. Chocolate-covered bourbon barrel-aged cherries. Our selection guide said this was what he would imagine a Port-finished Maker's Mark would taste like. On the nose, (no surprise) cherries, almonds, chocolate, and toffee. Borders on a light amaretto on certain passes. On the palate is where that chocolate comes through, which morphs from chocolate-covered cherry to raisinets as it finishes. There are amaretto and rum raisin elements that pop out at different points as well. Bottled at a cask strength of 109.5 proof, this incredibly smooth bourbon pour is unique in flavor and exceptional from nose to finish.

PROOF: 109.5

TOPFLIGHT: Series 1, Barrel No. 3

MASHBILL: 70% Corn, 16% Wheat, 14% Malted Barley

BARREL: Stave Profile - 2 Baked American Pure, 2 Seared French Cuvee, 4 Roasted French Mendiant, 2 Toasted French Spice

Bottle Size: 750ml