You may or may not recall this past Spring that I had the chance to visit the Maker's Mark distillery down in the hills of Kentucky. The drive to the distillery is quite beautiful and when you get to the actual property, the setting honestly takes your breath away. It's just beautiful.
It's almost sad to think that this was already half a year ago that we walked around "Star Hill Farms" the home of Maker's Mark.
Today is the first day of Autumn and it felt only right that I share this post today. It's the perfect way to bookend what has been a magnificent Summer. Plus, as the weather turns colder, there isn't much that beats a toasty bourbon on a cool fall night. It's like a woman that slaps you in the face then hugs you tight and doesn't let go.
French Toast was one of the flavors of Maker's Mark that we got to sample when we were taking our tour. As you can see from the title it is a Private Selection bourbon which means they use different staves to give it different flavors. After tasting it and learning that they were selling bottles at the gift shop, I knew I had to grab one.
Believe it or not, it has sat on my shelf all Summer unopened. I've been saving it for (I honestly don't know what), and I finally opened it last weekend. It was just as good as I remember it being with rich caramel notes and a warmth like I described above.
I know I shared some of these photos a while ago, but I wanted to remind you of the process. So the whiskey goes into a charred oak barrel and then different staves of wood are added to give it different flavors. The original Maker's Mark has no staves, it just sits in a barrel untouched for seven years or whatever.
Maker's 46 on the other hand uses 10 French Oak staves to impart a different flavor to the bourbon which has earned it pretty high acclaim and some awards if I am not mistaken.
The fact that any combination of ten different staves can be added to the barrels means that there are countless possibilities. Actually, not countless, but some very large number of possibilities. If you are willing to pay enough, you can have your own combinations of staves put into a barrel for your own private selection.
In the case of French Toast, you can see that they used 1 Baked American Pure, 2 Seared French Cuvee, 2 Maker's Mark 46 which would be French Oak, 1 Roasted French Mendiant, and 4 Toasted French Spice staves.
Clearly, this is a very "French" bourbon. You might also notice that the proof is 108.9 which makes it 54.45% alcohol by volume. It's a potent bottle, but so delicious!
The bottle has the traditional wax dip that sets Maker's Mark apart from many of the other brands out there. You can also see there is a bit of dust on the bottle. As I said, it has sat on my shelf all Summer before I finally took it down.
I could have dipped my own bottle at the gift shop, but I made the decision not to. Looking back now, I kind of wish I had, but when I am finished I don't really think I will be keeping the bottle, so I am not sure it really matters.
Here is a better description of the process that they use to make this special bourbon. They had quite a few bottles of it, so they must have made a decent number of barrels. I have never checked my local store to see if they ever have any of the private selection flavors, but in the future I might need to keep an eye out.
I just did a quick Google search and apparently you can get between 200 and 250 bottles out of a single barrel of bourbon. Obviously, it varies based on evaporation and things like that. That's also assuming it is a standard 53 gallon barrel.
This trip to Maker's Mark left some memories that are going to last a long long time. Certainly long after my bottle of French Toast is all gone and recycled. It also imparted a new fondness for Maker's Mark. One of the things I love about whiskey and bourbon is the history and the tradition that goes into the process. It's pretty fascinating and every time I open a new bottle and take a drink, I almost feel like I am touching the past.
Some of these recipes and processes have been handed down for generations. Even longer if you jump across the pond and start talking about Scotch.
It's safe to say, if I ever see a bottle of French Toast again, I will likely buy it. If you ever see one, you should buy it too. It might be a rare thing for you to find one out in the wild given the number of options they have! It's possible they might not make this flavor again for a decade or two.
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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or 