Brian’s Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut Batch #4 Review:
15-October-2020
MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT IDAHO DIRECTOR’S CUT BATCH #4 REVIEW:
Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut Batch #4 (Maker’s Mark PS – ID Dir Cut 4) is a sweet floral bomb from the moment the cork is pulled as its floral notes and sweetness dominate the nose. On the palate, fruit tree blossoms, herbal wheatiness and the sweetness pass along from the nose, but only a trace of spices follow. This cut has a medium-long sweet finish, but in the end, this is a simple bourbon.
2020 marks the second year the Idaho State Liquor Department has partnered with Maker’s Mark to expand on the Maker’s 46 process* of adding 10 oak finishing staves to cask-strength Maker’s Mark.
MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT – IDAHO DIRECTOR’S CUT BATCH #4 VITAL STATS:
– Category: Barrel Finished Kentucky Bourbon
– Region: Loretto, KY, USA
– Distiller: Maker’s Mark
– Mash Bill: Mashbill: 70% corn; 16% soft red winter wheat; 14% malted barley
– Barrel Char: New American white oak barrels are “seasoned” outdoors for nine months, (through a summer) then fired for 40 seconds to achieve #3 char.
– Barrel entry proof: 110
– Age: nas (5 3/4 to 7 years, plus finishing of 9 weeks in cold conditions in barrels with a chosen combination of staves)*
– ABV: 53.5% (107 Proof)
– Price: $69.95
MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT – IDAHO DIRECTOR’S CUT BATCH #4 FINISHING STAVES:
▪P2: Adds sweet brown vanilla, caramel and brown spice
▪Cu: Adds toasted oak and caramel
▪46 Adds dried fruit, vanilla and spice
▪Mo: Adds char, maple and cacao
▪Sp: Adds smoke, coumarin and spice
STAVE SELECTORS FOR THIS BATCH:
The Idaho State Liquor Division
*”The Maker’s Mark Private Select® Experience is a one-of-a-kind bourbon adventure. It took place over the course of a full day in Boise, Idaho. While there, we were introduced to the five oak staves chosen especially for this program. These five staves can be combined in 1,001 ways to create a personal expression. We learned about their taste profiles, sampled bourbon produced with each of them and made the selections that ultimately led to our own version of Maker’s Mark. We’re confident you’ll enjoy this new expression.”
*Learn more at https://www.makersmark.com/makers-mark-private-selection.
ENJOYMENT METHOD:
For the evaluation, I shared neat pours from Glencairn glasses with my daughter and fellow Whiskey for the Ages reviewer Hannah.
Check out her review for this bourbon here!
COMPARISON NOTES:
Prior to the official review of this bourbon, I enjoyed 1.5 ounces of the two 2020 Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut editions at home with my daughter. During this initial tasting, I felt Maker’s Mark PS – ID Dir Cut 4 might fit my taste profile better than its Maker’s Mark PS – ID Dir Cut 6 brother. However, Dir Cut 6 opened in the weeks leading up to the review to become one of the finest whiskeys I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying.
NOSE:
From the moment of uncorking, through the pour and while resting in the Glencairn, this bourbon is at once fresh and yet a well blended floral bomb. When brought to the nose for the first inhale, I am greeted with a slight amount of ethanol, but soon the floral notes morph into fruit tree blossoms with herbal and wheaty notes. Then trace aromas of red berry nectar and dried apricot mix with scant traces of fresh citrus come forward. Maker’s Mark PS – ID Dir Cut 4’s notes of allspice and white pepper are almost overpowered by the sweets of yellow cake, light vanilla, a hint of maple syrup, and brown sugar caramel. All this sweetness overpowers the scant woody aromas of light oak and toasted wood as floral notes waft upward.
PALATE:
I took a rather full first sip and experienced a little burn which quickly faded to a warming sensation. Fruit tree blossoms and the herbal wheatiness pass along from the nose as do the red berries. Dried tart cherries and an essence of bitter citrus zest come forward as well. While the allspice elements are gone, cinnamon and black pepper remain to treat the tongue. As I vigorously push the liquid around, I detect a yeasty wheat bread component. The simple sweets of light vanilla, brown sugar caramel, and hint of maple syrup sensed on the nose come through. Again, sweetness dominates and then light, seasoned and spicy oak dance on the edges. As the Glencairn is drawn down, toasted oak becomes more predominant.
Balance, Body, Feel and Look:
Maker’s Mark PS – ID Dir Cut 4 is well blended. Most of the typical bourbon aromas and flavors are masked. In my mouth, the liquid is both mellow and smooth, and creamy and viscous. When the vessel is given a brisk spin, a well defined crown forms. The crown gives way to fat, long clinging legs which drop into the honey colored liquid in the Glencairn’s bowl.
FINISH:
The finish of Maker’s Mark Private Select Idaho Director’s Cut Batch #4 is medium long, offering up plenty of lingering warmth, notes of herbalness and bitter citrus zest. Pepper and sweet brown sugar caramel soon overtake the aftertaste as do sweet seasoned spicy oak and toasted wood. The empty Glencairn is full of spicy seasoned oak. I wish the nose and palate smelled and tasted like this memory. In the end, this is a simple, sweet, floral wheater,
MY RATING: 85/100
Will I buy this whiskey again? No
There are better bourbons available at this price point.
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.
WHISKEY TRAITS AND FLAVOR NOTES AND PROFILE GRAPH:
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