Maker's Mark - Private Selection (A Carefully Selected Combination of Oak Finishing Staves; June 2021)

Smell: Caramel and dark fruit notes. Taste: Hints of dried fruits, almonds, and milk chocolate. Aftertaste: The flavor lingers on the palate for a long time. This is our second-to-last selection from 2021, arriving with holiday cheer. Purchasing a bottle could lead to winning prizes, including another bottle of this very selection! A little context first. Maker's Mark Private Selection builds upon the Maker's Mark 46® method. It starts with Maker's Mark® at cask strength and is aged an extra nine weeks in barrels fitted with 10 wood-finishing staves, stored in their limestone cellar. What sets Private Selection apart from Maker's Mark 46 is the ability to customize barrels using five distinct stave types, creating over 1,001 potential combinations. Like other single-barrel bourbons, all Maker's Mark Private Selection varieties are bottled at cask strength, typically between 107-114 proof. Ours came in at 110.8 proof with the following stave makeup: 0 x P2 (Baked American Pure) staves. This stave type was ultimately omitted from the final blend. 3 x Cu (Seared French Cuvée). Made from French oak, ridge-cut and seared with infrared heat, this stave contributes toasty oak and caramel flavors. It's the second most abundant stave in the final recipe. 2 x Maker's Mark 46. Crafted from seared French oak, it imparts notes of dried fruit, vanilla, and spice. A barrel with 10 of these staves would yield a cask-strength version of Maker's Mark 46. 4 x Mn (Roasted French Mendiant stave), comprised of French oak cooked at low temperatures in a convection oven. It adds subtle hints of milk chocolate, nuts, and dried dark fruit. The significant presence of this stave was key to the final blend's success. 1 x Sp (Toasted French Spice stave), also French oak toasted in a convection oven, first at high heat, then low. This stave offers notes of smoke, coumarin, and spice. It functioned almost as a finishing stave, lending the final blend its distinctive character. After agreeing on the desired flavor profile in April, these special Maker's Mark Private Selection barrels underwent nine weeks of aging in the cool environment of the brand's unique limestone cellar. The finished product was bottled in June and received by us in December during #barreldropmonth. So, what can you expect from this bottling? Smell: Caramel and dark fruit notes. Taste: Hints of dried fruits, almonds, and milk chocolate. Aftertaste: The flavor lingers on the palate for a long time. We anticipate your question, "What about winning a FREE bottle?". You read that right – each bottle includes a scratch-off card. You might win Maker's merchandise, stylish wax-dipped rocks glasses, or the grand prize – a complimentary bottle of this selection! To enter, simply share a photo of your bottle (showcasing our stave profile) and the scratch-off revealing your prize on your social media (IG, FB, etc.). Then, follow our IG profile, where we announce exciting new releases, and you're entered! Fittingly, the label design for this barrel selection pays homage to a popular lottery, the Power Ball, resembling the NY edition ticket with key details about the bottling. Finally, a contribution of $5 from every bottle sold will go to the Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. This was an easy decision given the devastation to a region deeply connected to all whiskey lovers of whiskey.