Maker’s Mark’s Private Select Program let’s you pick 10 staves that are inserted into the barrel for 9 weeks to impart new flavors. It’s interesting in that you can create your own new The downside is that you don’t know what you are going to get until the bottles arrive. Most of the selections I’ve seen have combinations of most or all of the stave types so I curious when I saw Oak only used 2 stave types.
Maker’s Mark Private Select Oak Liquor Cabinet 2019
Age: 6 years
Abv: 110 proof
Color: A medium amber
Price: $64.99
Staves: 5 Roasted French Mocha, 5 Toasted French Spice
Neat
Nose: Rich spices, a bit of ethanol, warm butterscotch,
Taste: A medley of baking spices, more butterscotch, cinnamon, vanilla. A little hot.
Finish: Long finish with warm spice and cinnamon. A bit of a burn
On a rock
Nose: Sweet and spiced with butterscotch and warm baking spice notes
Taste: Thick and excellent mouthfeel, a much better balance of baking spice and butterscotch,
Finish: A long finish with warm, lingering spice
Conclusion
This was was very good on the rocks and it’s that time of year here in central Texas. When I first cracked this it was too hot for me neat, a little open time mellowed it out enough to be enjoyable though I still prefer it on a rock. The intersection of the butterscotch notes I often get from wheaters and the rich spices from the finishing staves was very unique.
I’ve had a few Maker’s Private Selects now and this was easily one of my favorite. I think the focused stave selection helped a lot. I wish Maker’s would release this just a couple more years of age on them as 6 years for a cask strength wheater just isn’t enough time to get the sweet spot in my opinion.
That said it’s a tasty, cask strength wheated bourbon I was able to walk into a store and buy off the shelf at a reasonable price which isn’t easy to do these days. So if you’re a fan of wheat and high proof I’d definitely recommend grabbing a Maker’s Mark Private Select.
7 - a great whiskey I’d order at a bar
Fair - Worth the money, happy with my purchase
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