Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2021: FAE-01

I’d like to thank the PR folks at Maker’s Mark for providing a review sample to me with no strings attached. In the meantime, I found this at retail. Tasting notes are taken from the retail purchase.

IMAGE: a 750 mL bottle of the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, 2021 Limited Release: FAE-01

I’m not going to lie to you. As I am trying to write this, I have one eye on CNN awaiting word on a very important verdict. As such, I am quite distracted and am having a hard time writing anything coherent. So because of that, I am going to do something I don’t like to do and quote heavily from the press release in this post.

But first, let’s talk about what we are tasting tonight. It is the third release in the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, and the first of two this year. This Spring release will be followed by a Fall version of the same. It was created using a similar process to Maker’s 46 and the Private Selection program where they take standard Maker’s Mark bourbon and then add 10 specially crafted staves and add them to the inside of the barrel. I’ve enjoyed both of the last two very much and anticipate enjoying this one as well.

Here’s what the company has to say about this release.

“Every whisky in our Wood Finishing Series is meant to have a strong point of view; it should tell a story about what we do at the distillery,” says Jane Bowie, Director of Innovation at Maker’s Mark. “For 2021 we wanted to use wood to draw out those underlying bold qualities of classic Maker’s® that we get from non-chill filtration – heavy oakiness, earthy fig and that creamy, palate-coating mouthfeel. 

The first 2021 Limited Release, FAE-01, uses an American oak stave that is seared on one side and left raw on the other to amplify some of the signature dried fruit and oak flavors that Maker’s Mark is known for. The classic Maker’s Mark® Bourbon derives these tasting notes from naturally retained elements of barrel char and organic compounds called fatty acid esters (FAEs), which are responsible for both fruity tones and texture variations. Each side of the FAE-01 stave draws out different characteristics of these two flavor components – the charred side offers dark leathery tobacco notes, and the raw side yields fresh fruit, the two of which come together to create intense barrel-aged fruitiness. While 2021 Limited Release: FAE-01 focuses on drawing out specific flavors, 2021 Limited Release: FAE-02, arriving later this year, will be defined by its rich, weighty texture.  

“This first release tastes just like a Kentucky barrel warehouse smells,” says Bowie. “If you’ve ever walked through a rick house and taken a deep breath, you can almost taste the bourbon in the air, and that’s the experience we’ve created with FAE-01. There’s tons of pleasantly dank wood and tobacco on the nose, and rich, warm raisin and fig on the tongue – it’s literally like sipping on angel’s share.” 

Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series, 2021 Limited Release: FAE-01

Purchase Info: $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Super One Liquor, Duluth, MN. The suggested retail price is $59.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.33 at my purchase price. $4.00 at MSRP.

Details: 55.3% ABV.

Nose: Toffee, oak

Mouth: Nice spice, toffee, cinnamon, cocoa, and oak.

Finish: Spicy and warm. Lingering notes of toffee, dusty cocoa, and oak.

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Thoughts: This is very wood-forward bourbon. Water brings out more fruit and cocoa notes. There is a nice spiciness throughout. This might almost have too much barrel influence for me. It is trending toward muddiness. That said, I will still happily enjoy the occasional pour out of the bottle I bought when the mood for a wood-forward bourbon strikes me. I like this, but not as much as I had anticipated or hoped. But then, I'm not a huge fan of oaky bourbons preferring my bourbons to be a bit more balanced between oak and other flavors. Since they were hoping to replicate the experience of walking through a barrel warehouse, I’d say that they accomplished their goals.

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Bardstown Bourbon Company: Fusion Series #3

This sample was sent by the producers fas part of the media kit for the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival with no strings attached.

I’m starting to think I have too much whiskey. I know. I know. I’ve said this before. But honestly, when you can toss a sample in a drawer and forget about it for six months, the thought does pop into your head.

Because that is exactly what happened with tonight’s whiskey. I originally got this as part of the media kit for the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. There were a few bits of swag in there, a book, and a couple of 50mL bottles of bourbon. This, Maker’s Mark, and a Jim Beam product, I think. I tossed all three into the drawer of my cocktail station. I had the idea that I might review the Bardstown Bourbon Company one, but one thing led to another, and, well, here we are in March.

So what is it? That is a good question and it required a little digging on my part as there wasn’t any documentation provided. And there was little info on the bottle other than the proof to distinguish this release from any of the others. After a bit of time on the company website, I realized that this is the third iteration of Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Fusion Series. The proof was what gave it away if you are curious.

So what is the Fusion Series? I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard of it previously. Living in the Whiskey Hinterlands of Minnesota means that unless a small company sends me a sample, I might not run across their stuff until I make it to Kentucky. And such was the case here. I’d only had one product from BBC, the Collabor&tion (which I found pretty hit or miss with one being very tasty and the other being much less so), and hadn’t really kept touch with what the company was doing.

The Fusion Series is a blend of Bardstown Bourbon Company’s own bourbon with older sourced bourbon. And they’ve given a very nice breakdown of what they used to make it. This is comprised of 40% 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon (undisclosed source, but the mash bill was disclosed as 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley), 18% 3-year-old BBC bourbon (mash bill 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley), and 42% 3-year-old BBC bourbon (mash bill 60% corn, 36% wheat, and 4% malted barley).

Let’s see how it tastes.

Bardstown Bourbon Company: Fusion Series #3

Purchase Info: This sample was provided as part of a media kit for the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. The suggested retail price is $59.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.00

Details: 49.45% ABV. A blend of 40% 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon (undisclosed source, but the mash bill was disclosed as 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley), 18% 3-year-old Bardstown Bourbon Co bourbon (mash bill 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley), and 42% 3-year-old Bardstown Bourbon Co bourbon (mash bill 60% corn, 36% wheat, and 4% malted barley).

Nose: Almond, vanilla, cinnamon candies.

Mouth: Nice mouthfeel. Cinnamon, caramel, and Vanilla custard.

Finish: Warm and medium length. Cinnamon, mint, dark chocolate, and oak.

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Thoughts: this took me sips to get into as it needed a little time to open up. But once it did, it was lovely. Sweet, creamy, and spicy with a nice mouthfeel. I enjoyed it. I will have to keep an eye out for other releases after I can get to Kentucky again.

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Maker’s Mark Private Selection Program: The New Roasted French Mendiant Stave

I’d like to thank Maker’s Mark for providing the sample kit for the new stave with no strings attached.

So, Maker’s Mark has decided to tweak the Private Select program. They’ve decided to retire the Roasted French Mocha stave and replace it with a new one called Roasted French Mendiant.

When the Maker's Mark Private Select program was first introduced, I wrote a whole article about it. From that post, we know that the Roasted French Mocha is a French oak stave designed to bring dry, dark chocolate, coffee, and char notes to the finished bourbon.

So, you might ask, the names of Roasted French Mocha and Roasted French Mendiant are remarkably similar? What is the difference? That’s a fine question and Maker’s Mark was kind enough to provide the answer along with the samples they sent. Quoting from the press release:

The new stave takes the flavor cues folks have come to know and love from the program’s Mocha stave and expands on them with amplified milk chocolate, buttery nut, deep coffee and dried dark fruit notes. … In introducing Mendiant, we wanted to bring in a new and exciting stave that takes flavor cues from Mocha but enhances even more rich and creamy classic Maker’s Mark® notes. Mendiant, like Mocha, is also a French oak stave with a classic cut but is cooked low and slow vs. high and slow to achieve a delicious new finish.

I was very interested to taste the difference between these two. I haven’t liked every Private Selection I’ve had that included the French Mocha stave, but all of the ones I’ve liked have included it. And I’d never tasted it on its own. So this should be a fun look.

Maker's Mark French Mocha vs French Mendiant

Purchase Info: These are available as part of the Maker’s Mark Private Select Program. They are only available on their own if a participant in the program has elected to go that route with their selection. These samples were sent for review purposes. The suggested retail price for a bottle of Maker’s Mark Private Select is $69.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Mocha

Details: 54.95% ABV

Nose: Strong caramel, vanilla, oak, and chocolate.

Mouth: Caramel, vanilla, oak, chocolate, and a hint of mint.

Finish: Sweet and warm with lingering notes of chocolate, cinnamon, and caramel.

Mendiant

Details: 54.75% ABV

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, chamomile, and hints of oak and mint.

Mouth: Cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, almond, and herbal notes.

Finish: Sweet and warm. Lingering notes of caramel, vanilla, almond, and hints of chamomile.

Thoughts: These are both very good. I'd choose the Mocha personally as I love those chocolate notes. The Mendiant is much spicier while the Mocha is sweeter...

…when neat.

Since Maker's was nice enough to throw a vial of Maker's Cask strength in the package, let's see how each of these does in a 50-50 blend.

The blending definitely changes things up. The noses are very similar with the Mendiant being slightly more herbal. Both, however, are caramel bombs. On the mouth, the Mendiant seems to integrate better than the Mocha. The Mocha stays chocolaty and overpowers the notes from the Maker's Cask Strength. The Mendiant shows as sweeter and has more caramel and herbal notes than the Mocha. Strangely, my favorite has switched when blended with the Maker's Cask Strength. I much prefer the Mendiant in a blend.

Which might be why they are making the change.

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