Brian’s Maker’s Mark 101 Bourbon Review:
16-February-2021
MAKERS MARK 101 BOURBON REVIEW:
Maker’s Mark 101 is a decent bourbon. It won’t wow the seasoned drinker but for someone looking to advance to a higher proof, this might fit the bill. People who like regular Maker’s will likely enjoy the additional heat, yet there’s not much more complexity to this limited availability offering.
MAKERS MARK 101 BOURBON VITAL STATS:
Category: Wheated Whisky
Region: Loretto, KY
Distiller: Maker’s Mark
Mashbill: 70% corn; 16% soft red winter wheat; 14% malted barley
Barrel Char: unpublished
Barrel Proof: 110
(A lower proof than most cask strength whiskies; purposely kept lower to prevent alcohol from overwhelming the taste.)
Age: nas (believed to be 5-7 years)
ABV: 50.5% (101 Proof)
Price: $37.95 (2020 in Idaho)
Learn more at Distillery Trail Blog.
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
This challenging to find bourbon was enjoyed neat with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
MAKERS MARK 101 NOSE:
Makers Mark 101 smells warm and has the aroma of fruit tree blossoms floating in the breeze. More nosing brings flora notes of roasted corn, wheat, and dry cut grass. Its fruit components are faint; fresh-sliced tart apple core, sweet cherries and orange zest and white pepper lies under sweets of rich vanilla, maple and brown sugar. Wood components are subtle as well: cashews, and fresh cut toasted pine. And oddly, freshly applied drywall mud – but it works.
MAKERS MARK 101 PALATE:
From the first sip, this bourbon is warm and herbal as its notes of roasted corn blend with wheat and drying hay. I am able to detect a bit of dark plum mixed with a touch of bitter citrus but the typical fruitiness found in most Maker’s products just isn’t there. I do get a hint of cloves and black pepper which does work with the scant sweetness of bittersweet chocolate, maple and burnt brown sugar, but like the fruit component, the spice and sweets are fleeting. The woodiness first presents as bitter hazelnuts but then gives way to dry oak and then hazy barrel char. As each sip is swallowed, an almost bitter herbal grassiness remains.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
There’s not many flavors to play off one another but they are reasonably balanced. In the Glencairn, the whisky is smooth and oily and the liquid clings before the legs break into an irregular crown then fall back to the honey colored pool.
MAKERS MARK 101 FINISH:
Maker’s Mark 101 has a medium length dry warm finish. Herbal wheaty flavors pass through to the finish but all fruitiness is gone as a grassy aftertaste remains. This is not a spicy bourbon but what is there lingers. I also get a hint of bittersweet chocolate, but no other sweetness. Yet the dry oak and hazy barrel char do come through and when the last dram is gone, sweet campfire oak wafts from the Glencairn.
MY MAKERS MARK 101 RATING: 84/100
Will I buy this whisky again? NO
I won’t rush to replace my bottle, but it may have some intrinsic and conversational value to the well appointed home bar.
Click to read Brian’s scoring process.
Click 85/100 to access other whiskies with this score
To access other whiskies from this distillery, click Maker’s Mark..
MAKER’S MARK 101 TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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