Maker’s Mark 46 is a well beloved variant of the regular Maker’s Mark bourbon, taking the basic whiskey recipe and finishing it with 10 seared virgin French oak staves inserted into its barrel for upwards of nine weeks. A number of years ago the Kentucky distillery expanded upon 46, releasing a cask strength variant of it that was available only occasionally in their gift shop. Now, in celebration of a decade of 46 being on the market, the cask strength offering will be hitting the road in limited numbers.
Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength, according to those behind it, goes through the same finishing process as the regular 46, only instead of the regular 94 proof, what one ends up with normally are bottlings that range from 108-114 proof when available at the distillery. For the one being put into select retailers nationwide, however, it has been bottled at 109.6 proof.
“Introducing Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength,” said Rob Samuels, Managing Director, Maker’s Mark Distillery, in a prepared statement. “This limited release, previously only available in small quantities at our National Historic Landmark distillery, represents the purest expression of the bold taste that has made our original Wood Finishing Series Bourbon so beloved. It’s as close as you can get to sampling Maker’s Mark 46 right out of the barrel in our limestone cellar.
“And with its intense yet approachable take on the original Maker’s Mark taste vision, this is one cask-strength whisky equally at home on its own or in a classic cocktail.”
Plans call for this bourbon to price around $60 per bottle. There was no immediate mention of official tasting notes or what states specifically this whiskey was being released into. It should be noted as well that the original Maker’s 46 is the bourbon considered by the distillery to have kicked off its Wood Finishing Series.