WHISKEY’S BIG NEWS: New At Maker’s Mark
Marker’s Mark has a new whiskey and a new distiller. The whiskey, Maker’s 46 is the first real product innovation in the company’s 52 years, outside of different colored wax on some special bottles, Marker’s 46 is made by dumping the whiskey from Maker’s barrels, then affixing seared French oak staves to the inside and returning the whiskey for an additional short aging period. “Searing” is explained as a level of heating just short of toasting that brings out the vanilla and caramel flavors of the oak. The process gives the whiskey more caramel, spice and vanilla, according to master distiller, Kevin Smith.
The whiskey is also bottled at a slightly higher 47% ABV. Don’t expect to see a lot of it. They’re only bottling about 25,000 cases this year, compared to about a million cases of regular Maker’s Mark.
The new distiller was a lot easier; Kevin Smith just called Greg David and asked him. Davis, the former master distiller at the Tom Moore distillery when it was bought by Sazerac, joined Maker’s Mark as director of distillery operations, and reports directly to Smith. Congratulations, Greg. That’s a sweet job.
(Order it here at Maker’s Mark)
