Maker's Mark 46

why is it called 46 if the ABV is 47%

Mr. Nozinan, I believe that is because this was the 46th formulation in Maker's quest for a new bourbon to beef up their value stream. For the sake of clarity and charm, perhaps they should have called it "Maker's Mark Mark 46."

"The Maker's 46® name is from the profile number given to the seared French oak staves"...direct quote: www.makersmark.com/sections/…

Maker's Mark is bottled at 43% abv The "46" is bottled at 47%, which many consider to be near or at the optimal range for this style of whisky. My opinion is that 47% allows the wonderful qualities of this wheated gem to shine through and anything less than barrel strength is a compromise; however, anything nearing or exceeding the 50% range is a welcomed compromise.

Beam Inc. created the biggest uproar in the beverage and drinks industry since Coca-Cola announced it was introducing a new formula for Coke. Maker's Mark would be diluted from 43% to 40% without any discernible change to the taste profile....it didn't take Beam very long to do an about face and reassure the customer base that status quo would prevail. I wasn't convinced. I tucked away a few bottles of Maker's 46, the only other product ever produced in the nearly 60 years of distillation at the Maker's facility in Loretto, KY.

"New" Maker's Mark vanished as quickly as it appeared, and probably w/out hitting retail shelves.

Yes @Nozinan, Maker's 46 is bottled at 47% abv. Let's hope it stays that way.

Cheers!

p.

Mr. P.J., do you know anything about Booker's? Google is telling me the ABV is up in the stratosphere and it's single barrel. Sounds like it'd be right up your alley. I'm curious about it myself, but the price is also stratospheric, for a bourbon.

@SimeonSanchez, I love Booker's! It is a 'must have' whiskey for one's cabinet; uncut and non-filtered, the way whiskey should be served. I have four bottles on hand, just in case Suntory decides to do a "New Coke' with Booker's ;) (it didn't work with Maker's) ...the actual reason for stocking multiple bottles is simply fundamental economics - supply and demand. This 'tonic for the soul' is not consistently available and I am inclined to pick-up a few bottles when lucky enough to find them.

$70 is the price we pay in Ontario. I hope market forces and political influence does not cause the price to increase further.

The flavours are incredible, so intense in fact, when I have a cold and my taste buds have gone on vacation, I can always get a huge hit of vanilla from Booker's True Barrel Tonic.

Booker's is sounding fascinating (WhiskyBitch on youtube was also very enthysiastic). I am noticing (with horror) that $CA and $US are within 6 cents of each other as of today, so your $70 is about my $70. Though something tells me there's a importation duty going your way.

This must be a nuclear-powered tonic. I can't taste a damn thing when I have a cold.

Just picked this up a few days ago, and I'm really enjoying it (oddly enough I'm indifferent to the standard Maker's Mark).

Not ready to give it a score just yet, but I'm thinking it's somewhere between 88 to 90.

FMichael, I don't think that it is odd that you much prefer Maker's 46 over standard Maker's Mark. Many of us do. That extra wood added 'into' the Maker's 46 makes all the difference in its quality for sipping. '46' apparently refers to the number of "stabs at it" that were required to get to that product.

Victor - from my understanding it was the 46th variant/experiment that uses 10 toasted French Oak staves that won over the Master Distiller/s at Maker's Mark - hence the '46'.

Interesting video to see (I chuckled at 'yummy')...www.youtube.com/watch