Category: Wheated Whiskey

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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Brian’s Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut Batch #7 Review

written on 07-July-2019

MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT IDAHO DIRECTOR’S CUT BATCH #7 REVIEW:

Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut Batch #7 (MMPS ID-DCB7) is a GREAT bourbon and in my opinion, is superior to the other releases in this group. It ticks most of my taste profile boxes: warm and earthy with minimal floral undertones, a nice balance of spice and sweet, and finishes with plenty of oak. Check out the complete review below as well as those of other Idaho Director’s Cut and Private Select releases to see how they all compare.

MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT – IDAHO DIRECTOR’S CUT BATCH 7 VITAL STATS:

Category: Barrel Finished Kentucky Bourbon
Region: Loretto, KY, USA
Distiller: Maker’s Mark
Mash Bill: 70% corn; 16% soft red winter wheat; 14% malted barley
Barrels are “seasoned” outdoors for nine months, (over a summer) in new American white oak then fired for 40 seconds to achieve #3 char.
MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT – IDAHO DIRECTOR’S CUT BATCH 7 FINISHING STAVES*:
  4  Baked American Pure (P2)
      (Adds brown sugar, vanilla, caramel and spice)
  1  Seared French Cuvée (Cu)
      (Adds toasty oak and caramel)
  2  Maker’s Mark 46 (46)
      (Adds dried fruit, vanilla and spice)
  3  Roasted French Mocha (Mo)
      (Adds char, maple and cacao)
  0  Toasted French Spice (Sp)
Barrel entry proof: 110
Age: 8 years, 9 weeks
ABV: 54.3% (108.6 Proof)
Price: $69.95 USD in Idaho

Notes from the Maker’s Mark website:
“Maker’s Mark Private Select offers a new take on the Maker’s Mark 46 process … cask-strength Maker’s Mark is aged for nine additional weeks in barrels specially fitted with 10 oak finishing staves … Private Select separates itself from Maker’s Mark 46 … using five different stave types.”

makersmark.com

*Stave Selectors: The Idaho State Liquor Division & Chris Bailey of “The Whiskey Bar – Boise, ID, USA

ENJOYMENT METHOD:

I drank this spirit neat, from a Glencairn glass with daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer, Hannah.

Check out her review for this bourbon here!

NOSE:

MMPS ID-DCB7 gives the nose a little tickle of ethanol and a pleasant treat of wine tannins. It is wheaty with a nice aroma of dark, dried cherries, cinnamon apples, allspice (cinnamon, cloves, ginger), and rich vanilla. Its hazy, smoky sweetness blends nicely with warm buttery brown sugar caramel and maple syrup, and closes with a gentle earthiness.

PALATE:

MMPS ID-DCB7 is a warm, gentle, and earthy juice, with the signature Maker’s Mark wheatiness to coat the mouth. There’s plenty of dried cinnamon caramel apples and dark cherries, which work nicely with warm allspice and white pepper. The bourbon’s sweetness comes from cocoa nibs, rich vanilla, and warm buttery brown sugar caramel. The taste buds continue the nose theme with lots of seasoned toasted oak and hazy char.

Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
This is a solid bourbon, with a viscous and rich buttery mouthfeel. After each sip, big fat legs drip down the inside of the Glencairn back into the mahogany anf henna colored pool.

FINISH:

MMPS ID-DCB7 has a medium long finish. Like all Maker’s bourbons, it has a wheaty essence which plays well with the dark fruit wine tannins. Allspice, white pepper, and rich vanilla are joined by dark molasses, and smoky sweet barrel char of seasoned oak leaves the mouth with a little bite of earthy warmth.

COMPARISON NOTES:

I initially enjoyed an ounce of the three Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut editions at a special release party hosted by Maker’s Mark held at a local Boise, ID bar. Even with less than ideal reviewing conditions at the crowded venue, I rated MMPS ID-DCB7 to be better than MMPS ID-DCB5 and much better than MMPS ID-DCB3. These conclusions held through to my controlled tasting sessions.

MY RATING: 90/100

Will I seek out this whiskey in the future? Yes
_{Click to read Brian’s scoring process.}

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