Review #246: Maker’s Mark Private Select: TILA’s Liste

MASH BILL: 70% corn, 16% Soft Red Winter wheat, 14% malted barley

AGE: NAS

PROOF: 109.2

COST: ~$95 for 700mL bottle (In Germany)

I came across this bottle when I was visiting Germany back in December 2025. The particular shop where I picked this up from had a bottle of MM Cellar Aged 2025, which is why I was there, but this bottle really caught my attention because it had the discontinued mocha stave as part of the finishing stave combination. While I initially passed on it, the fact it had a mocha stave in the stave profile really stuck with me, so I ultimately succumbed to my curiosity and got a bottle. I was also very curious as to the age of this bottle since it did have the mocha stave (which was discontinued in 2021). After reaching out to Maker’s Mark to get that answer, I found out this bottle was filled on February 22, 2023. Let’s see how well the Germans pick American bourbon!

This private barrel produced 258 bottles, all release in Germany. Reviewed neat in a Glencairn

APPEARANCE: Auburn color (1.5), very oily, thick, and viscous on the glass.

NOSE: Lovely sweet nose with a touch of earthy spice. Candied pecans, honeyed nutmeg, and vanilla beans. More subtle notes of caramel, dark oak, and dried cherries.

PALATE: Medium mouthfeel. Dark chocolate covered cherries lead off. Burnt caramel, charred oak rich in vanillin, and lovely notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and some clove. There’s notes of other fruits that show up throughout a full pour of this sip such as grilled peaches, caramelized banana, and jammy red berries. It’s quite a complex sip but balanced while leaning into those dark, sweet notes.

FINISH: Long, sweet finish. A lot of what was on the palate translates well into the finish: burnt caramel, cherry, charred oak, and nutmeg. The dark chocolate note carries over but quickly fades out to more woody notes. The vanilla shows back up late in the finish along with a touch of wildflower honey.

RATING: 8.4/10

OVERALL: Damn…what a pour! TILA’s Liste knows their whiskey! This is one of the best Maker’s Mark expressions I’ve reviewed, only second to The Keepers Release which I rated at 8.5. While I haven’t reviewed my MM CA 2025 bottle yet, at first blush this pick is better. I love the dark notes throughout this. It has a lot of dark fruit, dark chocolate, and sweet vanillin oak notes. The consistent nutmeg that dominates other spice notes was really nice here as I feel like MM usually has a lot of the generic “baking spice” note versus a pinpointed spice. The variety of fruit notes that come and go on the palate is fun! My only critique is that as the sip goes on, the rating of each part goes down – that is, the nose component was my favorite, then the palate, then the finish. I think that mostly is credited to the earthy char and tannic oak notes becoming more prominent as the sip goes on. However, it’s still an excellent bottle that I’m glad I picked up!

Behind the Bottle

This private select is by TILA’s Liste. In its most literal form, TILA’s Liste a German spirits catalog. However, to better understand it, it is named after Timo (TI) Lambrecht (LA) who started an up-and-coming Breman, Germany based spirits distributor. Timo had a particular interest in looking for the best Scottish single malt whiskies available to Germany. Over the years, his reputation grew as he identified excellent value in German imported spirits including whiskies, rums, and gins. His reputation of finding excellent spirits grew, and from that popularity, TILA’s Liste was born.

TILA’s Liste has become a popular catalog for whiskey enthusiasts in Germany, allowing them to see what some of the best whiskies they can get (German imports), what their retail price is, and what their tasting notes are. As TILA’s Liste has grown in popularity, they have begun doing their own bottle picks. This particular Maker’s Mark Private Select is the first MM pick that TILA’s List has done, and boy did they set the bar high for their next MM private select!

 

1 | Disgusting | see my 1/10 ratings

2 | Poor | see my 2/10 ratings

3 | Bad | see my 3/10 ratings

4 | Sub-par | see my 4/10 ratings

5 | Good | see my 5/10 ratings

6 | Very Good | see my 6/10 ratings

7 | Great | see my 7/10 ratings

8 | Excellent | see my 8/10 ratings

9 | Incredible | see my 9/10 ratings

10 | Perfect | see my 10/10 ratings

 

Check out all my reviews: Woodgrain & Whiskey.