Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2021 FAE-02

So, mouthfeel. Word? That's how you're electing to sell this whisky? With the 2020 release, SE4 X PR5, you emphasized the caramel and vanilla inherent in your flavor profile. With the first 2021 special release, FAE 01, you went with the fruit forward flavors you get with Maker's Mark. And with this one, all your press releases lean on how great the....mouthfeel is. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm generally not rushing to buy a whisky because of its mouthfeel. Don't get me wrong, a nice viscosity is an added bonus, it's just...not a selling point. Still, I love Maker's, and with so many special releases in the bourbon world now in the $100+ range, getting a special release for $60 feels....special. So, even though I jest about the fact they're marketing this based on....mouthfeel...I still went out and picked up a bottle of this the first day it was available in my local Wine & Spirits store. After all, I keep seeing disclaimers about supply chain problems, and given there were three stores in my region that got 12 bottles each, I didn't want to miss out. I never got a chance to grab the 2019 release, but I have bottles of the 2020 and the 2021 FAE 01 in my closet that I haven't opened, but plan on getting to at some point. This was the first bottle in a while that I cracked open on the night I got it. With that out of the way, I still can't help thinking that maybe the head of marketing might use a bit more imagination in the future. Not just because of the mouthfeel press release, but because of the HAL 9000 names they're giving to these releases. I'm excited about them, but I might be a bit more excited if they had fun names that didn't sound like robots (I can't imagine I'm the first to comment on this). So, having decided to horde my bottles of 2020 and 2021 FAE 01, what do I think of the FAE 02? Well... It's really good. I mean, I talk a lot about how I generally can't tell what my final verdict is going to be on a bottle of whisky the night I open it, but this is a standout from the word go. The nose is lovely. Aromas of oak and molasses and brown sugar and pine with a hint of tobacco in there. It's definitely got a "drink this while sitting next to a fireplace in the dead of winter" type of nose. Hearty is a word that comes to mind. Robust is another. I often use rich, but this is richer than others. Hearty, I said it before but I'll say it again. I had two glasses over the course of a FaceTime call with a friend in Chicago, and it grew on me. I took a break from the intensity between those two glasses by pouring a less intense and less complex glass of Evan Williams 1783, and you know what the Evan Williams did was help emphasize just how rich and robust and complex and hearty this one is when I came back to it. The palate is also strong in the molasses and brown sugar flavors hinted at on the nose. It's got a very light, very fine sweetness that's not cloying but more of a bitter sweetness like you'd get with high cocoa dark chocolate, and as it lingers on the tongue you get a touch of caramel. Doesn't that sound good? I thought so. And so, given all that, why would you lead with telling us this one emphasizes the mouthfeel? I imagine this is going to sell quickly just by nature of it being a Maker's Mark special release, but I wouldn't be surprised if it moves off the shelves a little slower than its predecessors simply because...mouthfeel. So how, I know you're asking, is the mouthfeel? Well, it's good. I mean, especially when tasting a lesser whisky between glasses, it stands out. The EW 1783, at 90 proof, was watery compared to this (and don't think I'm crapping on the EW, I don't expect it to hold up to MM FAE 02; if it did, I'd buy three bottles of that instead of one of this; I'm just trying to point out how you can often use cheaper bourbons to augment the flavor profiles of higher end ones). The text on the FAE 02 points out how the stave profiles add to the fatty alcohol esters, and other than the fact that Fatty Alcoholic Est(h)ers strikes me as the world's worst name for an all female polka band, I really have no idea what that means other than there was a nice acidic viscosity to the mouthfeel. Or maybe it was a viscous acidity that was pleasant? Or maybe when it comes to mouthfeel I don't know what it is I'm talking about because it's something that's either there or it's not, it's good or it's not, at least in my experience. It's not something I spend a whole lot of my time assessing. Generally, when I'm trying to rank or rate a whisky these days, I ask myself, would I buy this again. But that's becoming a difficult question to answer because my interest these days is in variety. This was $60 a bottle, and it was definitely good enough to buy again. But then, Knob 12 is $60, and I haven't tried that yet and I want to. And Port Charlotte 10 is $70 and I haven't tried that, and I want to. And Alberta Premium Cask Strength is $70, and I haven't tried that, and I want to. So while, theoretically, yes, I would buy this again, my current preference is to try something new rather than dip into the same well twice, even if the water is sweet. And given that this is a special release, by the time I run through all the others I want to try in this price range (Old Overholt 11 Year, Teeling Blackpitts, Redbreast Cask Strength, Paul John Christmas Edition 2021), there won't be any of the FAE 02 left. Of course, by that point they'll have out the 2022 SR15 22 X 98 !Z* and I'm likely to snap that up before some of these others. So yeah, this is a fine whisky, a good whisky, one I'm looking forward to enjoying over the coming months of cold. You gotta have something to hold onto, right?

Ignited by the glorious bourbon that is RC6, I immediately became a fan of Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series. Like a chump, I assumed I would be able to get my hands on every bottling locally and I was dead wrong. I finally, recently grabbed a bottle of FAE-02 but am still on the hunt for SE4 PR5, trying to squeeze these tastes in before BRT 01 and 02 release for me to either order or purchase in store. The nose is sweet and powerful. Brown sugar and licorice are the predominant scents to me. Initial taste is all sweet. Milk chocolate, vanilla and honey greet you warmly but blend into slightly bitter and aromatic spices like cinnamon and ginger. A slightly bitter finish gives way to a interesting fresh herbaceous quality. Kind of reminds me of mint ( the herb, not like toothpaste ). Kind of tastes like some rye on the mash bill but classed up a bit for this special bottling. The finish stays spicy and the the mouthfeel is a bit thin and disappears into a slightly bitter and powdery texture on the tongue like dark chocolate powder. I've only had the pleasure of tasting RC6, FAE01 and now FAE02 in the Maker's Mark Wood Finishing series and this is really my least favorite of the 3. However, as a standalone bourbon its really quite good. It brings across some qualities you don't expect out of makers, particularly that refreshing herbaceous spice flavor on the finish. Try FAE02 if you can but don't go out of your way to hunt down a bottle.

Nose is nicely pungent featuring cola, root beer, chocolate, red apple, ginger, and soft green oak. Some persistent ethanol keeps you from getting in there and huffing as much as you would like to. Palate opens with caramel and vanilla, followed by milk chocolate, orange peel, Spanish peanut skin, and a more mature (slightly bitter) oak than the nose indicated but it brings balance. Flavor lingers on the tongue for an exceptionally long amount of time, a quality which I found enjoyable. Finish is of medium length and goes into a baking spice bloom of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger. Hint of star anise as well. This edition is supposed to showcase mouthfeel and in this it does not disappoint as the feel is smooth and silky and while it’s definitely a plus, it doesn’t quite match the decidedly spicy finish if that makes any sense. (But I’m splitting hairs here) Not quite as good as FAE-01, but still a very enjoyable whiskey with a lot going on. Manages to showcase the good things about Makers (rich cake-like sweetness) while minimizing its flaws (excessive spiciness) At $75, I’d probably buy another assuming there was one sitting on the shelf (fat chance)

Region: KY ABOUT: Maker’s Mark has resisted the rampant experimentation that defines some distilleries, but they appear to be making up for lost time with two 2021 releases in their Wood Finishing Series, which started in 2019. This release is enhanced by an American oak stave that has been toasted on only one side then added to the barrel. This innovation amps up the oak influence without going overboard. Fresh-sawn oak, earthiness, leather, and iced tea are balanced by caramel apple, toffee, and baking spice. A flavor-packed, oak-driven bourbon that wears its proof well. TASTING NOTES: AROMA: Heavy vanilla with spiced caramel TASTE: Butter pecan ice cream. Vanilla with creamy butter notes, dry spice, and caramelized sweetness. FINISH: Long, round, and dry PROOF Cask Strength (110.8)

When I read that this bourbon was supposed to deliver on the “mouthfeel” that it brings, I was interested and immediately thought back to a pour I had of Michter’s 10 year bourbon. I was real excited because I greatly enjoyed the Michter’s which had an incredibly smooth and viscous mouthfeel that I’d never experienced before. Unfortunately, this FAE02 did not deliver on the creaminess that I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great bourbon. Pleasantly sweet, caramel nose. Palate was woody and again caramel with a slightly sugary yet burning finish. It was complex enough that I truly enjoyed it. Unfortunately though, it did not deliver on the hopes that I originally had for it.

Haven't had much Maker's, so I can't really say how this compares to their regular offerings. This one comes with caramel, apple, oak, some chocolate, soft in the middle, with a little spicy finish. I had a small pour of OWA to compare and I like this a quarter to a half point better. The OWA came across as a little sour in comparison. I could see picking this one up if I come across it at SRP. I'm curious how it compares though to the regular cask strength, as I can find it around here for about $35.