Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2020 SE4 x PR5

During the height of the pandemic in California, people were making a mad dash for alcohol. I guess if you're going to be stuck at home... may as well be stuck and hammered, right? As a result, finding Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2020 release was all but impossible. Not only does distribution from Kentucky all the way out to California take ages, but the second limited bottles like this hit store shelves; they are wiped out. I all but gave up the hope of ever tasting SE4 PR5. And then, the other day as I was looking online for BRT 01 and BRT 02 I stumbled across a store that advertised 5 bottles of SE4 PR5 in stock. Probably because of the ridiculously inflated price tag they were asking. And although I hate paying almost triple retail MSRP for a bottle, I saw my one chance to catch this fleeting unicorn and took it. Was it worth the 2 year wait? The nose is rich and robust. Sweet and thick like caramel and molasses. A little bit of toasted oats adds some body to that nose. The taste balances the line between sweet and spicy. Its got a lot more complexity than Maker's Mark core selections for sure. It starts off innocently enough with some sweet caramel and a little bit of milk chocolate. As you move toward the middle of the taste, your tongue is caught in fiery spice that opens up from mid tongue out. Its a bit herbaceous and just faintly related to rye. As that spice dies down you get a background of roasted peanuts which adds just a tad of savory quality to the flavor. The part of this bourbon I find lacking is the aftertaste though. Once the bourbon is down and that nutty finish is gone, a bit of sourness creeps onto the back of the palate that reminds me a bit of the aftertaste of warm coke. Its weird... I have never tasted this sort of aftertaste on any Maker's Mark whiskey. But somehow it fits in to character with the overall complexity of this selection.

Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2020 SE4 x PR5. Man, Maker's Mark really needs to come up with some sexier names. There's got to be a happy-medium between that and what Highland Park is doing. At any rate, I enjoyed the 2019 RC6, and I'm hoping this can deliver an equivalent if not better experience. Nose: Cherry and baked apple (apple pie.) Caramel, nougat, and brown sugar. Cinnamon Teddy Grahams. Black tea leaves. Orange peel and ginger. Vanilla and toffee. Heaps of cinnamon, black pepper, clove, and nutmeg. Plenty of oak. Very strong start with this nose. Palate: Apple, vanilla, and chewy caramel. Toffee and pecan--the latter is a new note for Maker's, or maybe one I've just never noticed. Cola--and to be precise it's Cherry Vanilla Coke. A ton of brown sugar. Cinnamon, allspice, clove, and nutmeg provide some nice warmth on the mid-palate. And of course, oak. Very nice. Finish: Vanilla, caramel, and roasted nut. Cinnamon, black pepper, clove nutmeg, allspice, and oak spices carry this to what makes a for a log finish. Fantastic. This is a 4.25 boosted to a 4.75 when factoring in VFM. Booker's has almost doubled in price, as has ECBP. This ran me a mere $55. And what I got was nothing short of superb. In the context of the Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series, this is a winner. It crushes the 2019 iteration, which I liked to begin with. At 55.4%, this is a heavy-hitter. And when you consider the cost of similarly-proofed bourbons, they're generally significantly more expensive. My review comes late, but if you can still find this, it's an absolute no-brainer. Remarkable stuff from Maker's Mark--and now I need to buy the 2021 edition.

Neat. Opened about 3 months. So I really didn’t care for this on the neck pour. Time to revisit. Additionally, around this time I began realizing a certain food may be messing with my palate if I eat it before I drink whiskey. So clean slate here, giving it the benefit of the doubt. The nose is very oak forward. Little pine in there too. Like being in the woods on a dry summer day. Oak melds a bit with the sweetness creating a dark chocolate. Fresh wheat bread, lots of baking spices. Cinnamon, little clove. There is this odd powdered sugar density. Like it tickles the nose. The longer I sit with it, this deep vanilla is emerging and taking center stage from the oak. Honestly, this is just coming off flat. I recently opened a Maker’s Community Blend that blew me away on the nose. This has no stand out characteristic on the nose. Decent mouth feel. Not creamy not thin. Slightly oily enough to coat. Cinnamon sugar on the tongue, very sweet. Vanilla coming through as well. Mid-palate the vanilla sweetness gives way to a dry, bitter oak. It’s astringent. If I try hard to get passed the bitter oak, I can find a nice chocolate note but it’s not worth the journey to get there. Rich vanilla building in my throat, really lingers. The aftertaste building is actually kinda good. But once again not worth the journey to get there. Okay, I gave it a shot but safe to say this will go down as my least favorite Maker’s release. Ranks below RC6, 46 Cask, or any Private Select I have had. Just can’t understand what they were going for with this release...

Taste was neat in a glencairn glass. The bottle has been open for about 5 weeks. Had to let this sit for about 15 minutes for this to open up, got almost all ethanol on the initial pour. Nose - it’s a decent nose but, subtle. The most prominent things that jump out are a sweet vanilla like a vanilla frosting and fresh apple peel. There’s some caramel undertones but not as prominent as the stave profile would suggest. Rounds out with a little bit of cinnamon, toasted oat, and slight oak presence. Palate- palate is unique, vanilla, but got more caramel than the nose was suggesting, really pick up on the apple, and then the spice takes over. Mid to back palate is a spice bomb, lot of pepper, cinnamon, the apple hangs in there as well. Little bit of oak. Finish - medium, pleasant and not drying, apple continues to be the standout, hints of caramel, vanilla, oak and leather. The SE4 x PR5 didn’t blow me away but it’s good, definitely hits above average. There’s some good flavor there, but you might have to work to identify it. The caramel and vanilla dance around a little bit, the apple was always consistent. If you like a spicy bourbon then this is a good option, it’s not a burn it’s a legitimate spicy flavor. This would be a good bourbon on a crisp fall evening. Definitely recommend.

Nose - cinnamon, yeast, black cherry, vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, cocoa, apple, mint, bitter herbal notes, dry oak, blueberry bread, banana, marshmallow, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - spiced apple pie, cinnamon, chocolate malt, vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, cranberry, clove, tannic oak, graham cracker, cherry, ginger, black pepper, banana, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium length with tannic oak, baking spice, and cocoa flavors. The main difference I find between this and the 2019 RC6 is that this is less fragrant and much more bitter, spicy, and tannic. The wood notes are far more pronounced here. The extra French oak stave really has a big impact, but not in a way that I’d say is particularly pleasant. There’s more of a toasted oak vibe going on here than with the RC6. Generally, there are a lot of overlapping flavors and both are unmistakeable Maker’s products, but I rate this one slightly above average and the RC6 one notch higher.

NOSE: Fresh pastries, oak, corn bread, butterscotch, baking spice, vanilla frosting, touches of fruit, French Toast, toasted marshmallows, bubble gum and char. Maker's Mark 2020 Wood Finishing Series aroma is complex and lovely with this overall "bakery" quality to it that moves along with the oak and spice in a way that's just... remarkable. PALATE: Oak, red licorice, fresh pastries, corn bread, butterscotch, baking spice, vanilla frosting, touches of fruit, French Toast, coconut, caramel and bitter char.  The palate is a touch muted compared to the aroma and carries a more dessert/dark sweet profile but again a solid oak layer propping it all up. FINISH: Med-Long -> Oak, cocoa, leather, char, caramel and marshmallow. A wonderful fade that slowly goes from earthy to sweet in a velvety transition.