Title:
Maker’s Mark “BRT-02”
Description:
Maker’s Mark BRT-02 – Review
Color: An almost luminous golden brownish-orange.
On the nose: This is very layered. A wispy cloud of oaky vanilla wafts from the glass a topnote. Just underneath this are tart stone fruit aromas of underripe peach; descending a level further, I pick up more sharply mineralic notes of limestone. The base of this is comprised of the most delectable smelling caramelized brown sugar notes. I’m fascinated by how each plane or stratum of this is so clearly delineated.
In the mouth: This starts out with a soft fruitiness that is quintessentially Maker’s in character. I get a delicious note of candied cherry that carries the whisky up the tongue, where it gradually morphs into an echo of the nose’s stoniness. On the sides of the tongue and the cheeks, however, I sense a reprise of those superb brown sugar notes. In the middle of the palate there’s a heat that starts to radiate across the roof of the mouth, at which point the whiskey takes on more of a woody cast. These spicy and woody notes are held in balance through the finish, adding some textural nuance without ever becoming overwhelming or bitter. That tart stone fruit once again makes a return in the form of a lingering aftertaste, where they are married to more piquant notes of ground cinnamon and cracked black pepper.
Conclusions:
Surprising in the best of ways, this struck a deft balance between being identifiably a Maker’s Mark whisky (that first sip felt like a homecoming) while differing noticeably from any Maker’s that I have ever tried. The clarity with which each of the four layers of the nose expressed themselves is brand new to me; usually aromas so sharply demarcated are off-putting to me, but this whiskey pulled the act off with aplomb. I love the symmetry between the nose and the palate as well. This is not a perfect whisky, but it develops in an intriguing way from beginning to end, thus I am awarding it a score corresponding to “superb” on our price-sensitive scoring bands.
Score: 7/10
If you’re a Maker’s superfan, or a Maker’s fan like me (with a generally positive impression but a mixed record of liking and disliking Maker’s in its various incarnations), or just a fan of tasty bourbon, I can strongly recommend this expression. I don’t know how it performs relative to BRT-01, nor whether this is an accurate representation of the flavor development in the lower parts of the Maker’s rickhouses… and I don’t really care. It’s a very good whisky at SRP (or below) that I look forward to enjoying repeatedly and sharing with others… free of pressure, of course.
Color: An almost luminous golden brownish-orange.
On the nose: This is very layered. A wispy cloud of oaky vanilla wafts from the glass a topnote. Just underneath this are tart stone fruit aromas of underripe peach; descending a level further, I pick up more sharply mineralic notes of limestone. The base of this is comprised of the most delectable smelling caramelized brown sugar notes. I’m fascinated by how each plane or stratum of this is so clearly delineated.
In the mouth: This starts out with a soft fruitiness that is quintessentially Maker’s in character. I get a delicious note of candied cherry that carries the whisky up the tongue, where it gradually morphs into an echo of the nose’s stoniness. On the sides of the tongue and the cheeks, however, I sense a reprise of those superb brown sugar notes. In the middle of the palate there’s a heat that starts to radiate across the roof of the mouth, at which point the whiskey takes on more of a woody cast. These spicy and woody notes are held in balance through the finish, adding some textural nuance without ever becoming overwhelming or bitter. That tart stone fruit once again makes a return in the form of a lingering aftertaste, where they are married to more piquant notes of ground cinnamon and cracked black pepper.
Conclusions:
Surprising in the best of ways, this struck a deft balance between being identifiably a Maker’s Mark whisky (that first sip felt like a homecoming) while differing noticeably from any Maker’s that I have ever tried. The clarity with which each of the four layers of the nose expressed themselves is brand new to me; usually aromas so sharply demarcated are off-putting to me, but this whiskey pulled the act off with aplomb. I love the symmetry between the nose and the palate as well. This is not a perfect whisky, but it develops in an intriguing way from beginning to end, thus I am awarding it a score corresponding to “superb” on our price-sensitive scoring bands.
Score: 7/10
If you’re a Maker’s superfan, or a Maker’s fan like me (with a generally positive impression but a mixed record of liking and disliking Maker’s in its various incarnations), or just a fan of tasty bourbon, I can strongly recommend this expression. I don’t know how it performs relative to BRT-01, nor whether this is an accurate representation of the flavor development in the lower parts of the Maker’s rickhouses… and I don’t really care. It’s a very good whisky at SRP (or below) that I look forward to enjoying repeatedly and sharing with others… free of pressure, of course.
Brewery or Distillery:
Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc.
Size:
750 mL
Alcohol Percent:
54.7
Type of Alcohol:
Bourbon
Year:
2022
Date Added:
2023-02-10 17:44:50
Date Added:
2023-02-10 17:44:50
