Maker’s Mark New Bourbon Is a Big Bet on the Future of Whiskey
Maker's Mark is revealing its first-ever limited release bourbon that won't require a special trip to Loretto, Kentucky to snag a taste. Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series 2019 Release: RC6 will be available nationwide this fall, albeit for as long as the barrels last, the distillery announced. It marks the first of many upcoming whiskeys in the wood finishing series, as Maker's Mark plans to release a new one for a limited time, nationwide, each year. A lot of firsts for this bourbon.
The distillery has been tinkering with wood finishing for nearly a decade, inserting carefully chosen wooden staves into barrels full of already-matured bourbon to give it extra flavor and character. You might already be familiar with the Maker's Mark wood finishing series from Marker's Mark 46 and Maker's Mark Private Select.
Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series 2019 Release: RC6—or Maker’s Mark 2019 Release, for short—was finished in secondary barrels containing 10 wooden staves dubbed RC6. The staves, made from virgin American oak, were seasoned for a year and half (a.k.a. exposed to the outdoor elements) and then baked in a convection oven before being introduced to the cask-strength bourbon. The distillers experimented with timing, wood type, heat level, and more for two years before getting the combination right. In the end, Maker's Mark made 255 barrels of this wood-finished bourbon, and that's all she wrote on RC6; the distillery doesn't plan to use it outside of this limited release.
“We have been experimenting with wood finishing staves and techniques since we first released Maker’s Mark 46 in 2010, and it never ceases to amaze me how much natural flavor we can extract from just 10 wood staves interacting with our bourbon over a period of time,” said Jane Bowie, Maker’s Mark Director of Private Select.
As for the flavor, Maker's Mark describes the staves as imparting Maker’s Mark 2019 Release with notes of baking spice and fruit, with a bright finish. The bourbon is bottled at 108.2 proof, and you'll be able to find it nationwide come October. Although, if you want to guarantee yourself a bottle, you might end up taking that trip to Kentucky after all, where it will be sold starting later this month. A bottle costs $60.
Maker's Mark believes wood finishing is the future of the bourbon industry. You can decide that, after much taste-testing on a once-per-year basis, for yourself.
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