Hannah’s Maker’s Mark Private Select ID Director’s Cut Batch #3 Review
Original review written December 10, 2019
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
On its own, it’s a very good bourbon, but pitted against the other Idaho batches (4, 5, 6 and 7), this one falls a little short, but it is not my least favorite of the bunch. But if you find it, I still think it’s worth the purchase. Read my Maker’s Mark Private Select ID Director’s Cut Batch #3 Review here! 87/100
VITALS:
– Made In: Kentucky, USA
– Distiller: Maker’s Mark Distillery
– Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Private Select
– Age: 8 yrs. 9 weeks
– Mash Bill: Corn=70%; Soft Red Winter Wheat=16%; Malted Barley=14%
– Casks: Char #3
– Barrel Entry Proof: 110
– ABV: 54.5% (108.8 proof)
– Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut Batch #3 (MMPS-ID-IDB3) finishing staves:
4 Seared French Cuvée (Cu) to provide toasty oak and caramel
2 Baked American Pure (Pu) to provide brown sugar, vanilla, caramel and spice
2 Maker’s Mark 46 (46) to provide dried fruit, vanilla and spice
2 Roasted French Mocha (Mo) to provide char, maple and cacao
0 Toasted French Spice
– Stave Selectors: The Idaho State Liquor Division and Chris Bailey of “The Whiskey Bar” – Boise, ID, USA
– Price: $69.95 USD in Idaho
Visit makersmark.com for more information
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
I enjoyed the juice neat from a Glencairn glass with father and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Brian.
Check out his review for this bourbon here!
SETTING:
It’s a warm, summer morning in a hot air balloon floating above the world, but making your descent to the ground for a morning picnic. As long as you’re not the pilot, feel free to start sipping early ;).
Photo by Kashish Lamba on Unsplash
NOSE:
Dark fruits bloom on the first sips, mixed with vanilla and allspice, but the vanilla quickly becomes dominant. Very little alcohol burn, just something to be increasingly excited about sipping. Underneath these flavors, I find sweet caramel, candy corn, dusty grain and a sprinkling of oak sawdust. Very nice.
PALATE:
– Mouth Feel: Full and maybe a little coppery with a salt aspect.
– Balance: Unusual, but not disappointing. The flavors would be perfect without the salt.
– Visual: Burnt amber in color, this bourbon coats the glass, leaving only a crown present.
– Taste: I’m met with a briny quality paired with the dark fruit from the nose, likely blackberry as there is a slight freshness that lifts the flavors at the end of the sip. The corn grain sits underneath, along with seasoned oak. But the briny-ness, or should I say saltiness, makes the marriage of flavors a little challenging.
With a Kentucky chew, an additional layer of deep complexity comes out, employing a maraschino cherry to join in. There is also a nutty element to the Kentucky chew; I can’t say what nut exactly, but it isn’t bitter. No matter how much I provoke this one, it won’t bite back, but it will still confer a bourbon warmth that leaves me salivating for the next sip.
While I do like this, I wish it did not have the salty component, even though it seems to be more like a salted caramel as opposed to only grains of salt.
FINISH:
– Lasting Power: Long. The warmth just continues to stick around, even minutes after I’ve set my glass down.
– Between sips: Aside from the aforementioned warmth, the cherries stick out the most for me, with the dash of salt included. The cherry seems to be of the maraschino variety.
– No More: The saltiness mellows out the further I get into the glass, with the cherries taking a bigger role. But the blackberries are still present to munch on, which is nice. And while the saltiness has not completely disappeared, this is still very enjoyable.
The empty Glencairn is of seasoned, sawdust oak – nice and spicy with a bit of alcohol kick still fighting.
WORTH THE PRICE?
As stated, if you can find Batches 5, 6 or 7, those are a better investment, but this is still worth the try, and it is still very enjoyable, and is superior to the 4 (for me).
RATING: 87/100
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To access other whiskies from this distillery, click Maker’s Mark.
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