About this deal
With its new bottle design, Maker’s Mark 46 gravitates to the brand's standards. Gone is the unique bottle design that stood tall, instead now sharing the same bottle that the standard Maker’s Mark uses. They also switched to a paper label prominently featuring a gold foiled "French Oaked" and "Bill's Recipe" while shrinking the 46. Additionally, it has gone from a corked bottle to a screw top; a perplexing move for sure. Whether or not the cask strength, private select, and wood finishing series bottles eventually gain a similar redesign has yet to be seen, but for now, Maker’s Mark 46 lost a little bit of its specialness that helped it stand out on shelves. Produced in small batches of 20 barrels or less, Maker's Mark 46 Cask Strength is a moderately limited release that features nothing but the French Oak staves used for 46 and bottling at cask strength. Once a distillery only release, Maker's Mark 46 CS can now be found across the country. There are few bottles that are more recognizable than Margie’s design for Maker’s Mark. Everything on Margie’s bottle has a reason for being there. That distillery, once Burks Distillery and now Maker’s Mark, has been producing whiskey since 1889.
It is an excellent introduction to bourbon for someone who wants to explore it American bourbon more broadly. Maker’s 46 Bourbon
Maker’s Mark 46 Tasting Notes
According to the label on the Maker’s Mark bottle, Bill Samuels Senior wanted to create a bourbon that was soft, creamy, and full-bodied. Excerpt: I feel that detail was missed when crafting this batch. It could make a reasonable mixer with its bold cinnamon notes and heat, but I would not recommend it as a daily or even special occasion sipper. Samuels started working with his family’s mash bill to make his own bourbon. It was a 170-year-old recipe, he believed himself to be the fourth-generation distiller. The Maker’s Mark 46 process begins where the inspiration for the new bourbon also came from, Maker’s Mark. The Maker’s Mark original is fully matured at cask-strength, which means it hasn’t been diluted with water so it’s higher proof. Legend has it that Margie hand-dipped the first Maker’s Mark bottle in her home-fryer for that signature wax seal. I’d say it was worth ruining the fryer! Maker’s Mark Specs
The water used for Maker’s Mark is filtered naturally through limestone in the distillery’s own personal watershed.
Rich and creamy. There are notes of oak, vanilla cinnamon, all perfectly balanced. The Maker's 46 has a big mouthfeel. It is smooth like creamed honey. After the second sip, butter toffee, toast and hints of pepper show up. Water softens the heat a bit, but it is easy enough to drink without water. Maker’s Mark is going to be creamy, smooth, and soft with hints of vanilla, oak, tobacco, and caramel. The shape of the bottle is less squared than the Maker’s Mark original and taller. It’s more narrow at the bottom and expands slightly at the top, giving it a refreshing unique shape. The Maker’s Mark 46 bottle stands tall and is nothing short of regal. Excerpt: All that said, the flavors are nice but don’t have the same depth and richness as the nose – a bit of a letdown. Maker’s 46 Cask Strength is the barrel proof version of the standard Maker’s 46. Maker’s 46 starts off as standard Maker’s Mark, which is a wheated bourbon made in batches of less than 1,000 gallons.