Hello! Well, it's time to start getting back in 'whiskey' shape for the upcoming 24 Days of Whisk(e)y... tonight, I'm drinking Maker's Mark No. 46 - Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky (no e?). This one was finished with ten virgin French oak staves, coming in at 55.05% ABV, batch 23-02.
Time to give this a try. On the nose - there is a lot going on, there is some citrus, along with a candy cherry note. I get some milk chocolate and/or toffee, and some peppery spice. It's quite nice and isn't overpowering.
On the taste - the peppery spice comes through first for me, along with the chocolate cherry and a bit of grass in there too. The finish is similar with the candy cherry / chocolate up front, peppery spice in the back. The finish lingers for quite some time and you do get some wood bite eventually.
With a dash of water, the nose is more sweet and herbal, while the taste is a bit more sweet and with more chocolate - the finish gets a bit more wood... it might be better with a dash of water to be honest. Overall this is quite good - what you would expect from a large distillery releasing a cask strength bottle around $65 or so. I give this a 3.75/5.0 ... the bottle disappeared a lot quicker than expected. Cheers!!!
