Back in the Spring of 2023, my wife and I were lucky enough to drive down to Louisville Kentucky and spend a bit of time in the area. One of the days we were down there we made a trip along the Bourbon Trail to Morningstar Farms which is the home of Maker's Mark Bourbon.
I'm sure I've said this a million times before, but it's important to remember that all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Whiskey is required to meet certain requirements to be considered bourbon. Let's recap those requirements just to refresh your memory:
It has to be produced in the US. I think this used to be specifically Kentucky, but that is no longer the case. Despite that fact something like 95% of bourbon is still distilled in Kentucky.
It has to have a mash bill of at least 51% corn. The mash bill is just the grains they use to make the whiskey.
It has be aged in new containers made of oak.
There can be no additives introduced into the mix.
Finally, it should be distilled at 160 proof or higher, barreled at 125 proof or higher, and bottled at 80 proof or higher.
Beyond that, there are a bunch of other types of bourbon qualifiers like "straight bourbon", but that is the basic concept.
It has slowed down a bit now, but there was a time where certain bottles of bourbon were quite hard to get your hands on. Due to limited supply and a huge demand for offering from specific distilleries (like Buffalo Trace), they implemented an allocation system in many states. Different stores are allocated specific bottles on specific days of the week and it's usually only a couple, so you will often find people lined up outside the door waiting for the store to open to get their hands on the allocated bottles.
Typically most stores only allow you the choice of one allocated bottle per visit. It seems a lot of stores get their allocation on Thursday morning, which given the fact that I work a regular 9 to 5 job (okay 6:30 to 3:30), it makes it hard for me to get my hands on these bottles.
However, just about a year ago now I was down in Ohio for my nieces graduation and I just happened to be in town at the right time. I picked up this bottle of Maker's Mark that was bottled specifically for the Memorial Golf Tournament that is held in Columbus each year.
This bottle is number 150 of 252, not bad given the fact that the typical barrel of bourbon usually offers between 150 and 250 bottles.
One of the things I love about the Maker's Private Selection line is that any business can make their own if they have the money to put into it. In this case, it looks like this one was crafted to their preferred flavor profile by Workday.
As you can see from the label, for this particular barrel they chose to finish the bourbon with 2 staves of Baked American Pure 2, 4 staves of Seared French Cuvee, 1 Maker's Mark 46 barrel stave, 2 roasted French mendiant, and 1 toasted french spice stave.
I know it's been about a year now, but I finally got around to opening up this bottle the other weekend. If you look at the photo above, it gives you a description of what flavors those staves I mentioned earlier impart on the bourbon.
The photo above is just a little more information on the process that I explained earlier. In case I wasn't clear enough about how they put together the barrels for these private selection bourbons.
This particular bottle clocked in at 111.8 proof which is 55.9% alcohol. Actually, not too bad for a barrel proof bourbon. I have had some that are over 60% alcohol and those are definitely an experience in themselves.
This private selection was really wonderful with a rich caramel flavor. I think a good way to explain it would be "thick", but not overwhelmingly so. I tried a bit of it neat just to get a feel of the flavor before I poured a bit over a large ice cube in one of my favorite glasses. If you are able to get your hands on a Maker's Mark Private Selection bottle sometime, I highly recommend it.
Chances are I will be milking this bottle as long as I can in case I never get the chance to grab another one. Even then, although they might use the same staves since it will be a different bottle, the flavor profile will likely be a bit different anyway.
At around $80 USD, I'm not sad at all that I snagged this offering.
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What a beautiful post, brought to my attention by @steevc. Makers Mark is mine & @bitterirony’s fave Bourbon.
Happy to see you and @mrsbozz enjoy it as well!
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That sounds like a special bottle! I've enjoyed learning about some of Costco's offerings. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to their Kirkland-brand wines and spirits. It's really hit or miss with them but some of the better ones have cult followings.
The Kirkland Small Batch that they source from Bartons 1792 is amazing stuff. You can get a liter bottle for like $30 and for the quality you just can't match the price. I have half a bottle of it and an unopened one at home right now.
Good to know! I'll have to try that one. I'm a fan of red wine and have found so many gems there at about 1/3rd of the price if it wasn't Kirkland.
Was it a special occasion, or your just felt like opening the bottle to treat yourself? Also, what's a stave?
Just felt like opening the bottle. A stave is a piece of wood they use for the barrel. So all the staves are bound together with the metal rings to make the barrel.
I have had a couple in the past and they are well worth the money. They are amazing bottles to be enjoyed for as long as possible! It's hard to find many of those around these days, although I have seen more Eagle Rare available for some reason, although usually overpriced.
That bottle looks amazing, and must have tasted really good. It makes me miss the days when Bookers was affordable!
They just dropped a new Eagle Rare the other day. Aged 30 years. $12,500.
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That sounds like one to enjoy. There's all sorts of stuff about these drinks that I don't know, but maybe I will read up some time.