Review #250: Maker’s Mark - The Steward’s Release

MASH BILL: 70% corn, 16% soft red winter wheat, 14% malted barley

AGE: NAS

PROOF: 109.8

COST: $68 for 750mL bottle (Costco)

This is the third of five annual releases of the second era of the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series: The Steward’s Release. This year’s release honors the distillery Operations team. This release features cask strength Maker’s Mark finished with 10 virgin toasted American oak staves. For those keeping track, this is the same finishing profile as the 2025 Wood Finish Series release, The Keeper’s Release, which also featured 10 virgin toasted American oak staves. I reached out to Maker’s Mark to see if there was a difference in the finishing strategy between these two batches but didn’t receive a lot of help here.

For the 2025 Keeper’s Release, part of the batch was finished for 5 weeks while the other part of the batch was finished for 9 weeks. What I was able to get from the Maker’s Mark team, The Steward’s Release did have a different approach to finishing than The Keeper’s Release. They mentioned that the split finishing approach for The Keepers Release was intentional to help balance the “brighter, fresher oak influence and deeper, more integrated wood characteristics.” When you read the tasting notes on the front of these two bottles, they sound quite a bit different: “Bold oak, toasted sweetness” versus “vibrant, raw honey, stone fruit.” I would still be curious as to what the finishing time was between these two releases. Additionally, maybe there was something physically different between the staves used for each while both are still able to be called “virgin toasted American oak,” such as ridges being cut in the stave, or perhaps a slower or longer toasting of the staves, etc. If you happen to have some insight or have a contact at Maker’s Mark that could help provide some insight, please let me know as I’d love to talk with them.

Another thing that is interesting to note is The Steward’s Release can be found in two proofs: 109.6 (the version I’m reviewing) and 113.3. I also asked Maker’s Mark on the reason behind this as they haven’t done this in the past. The answer is it was produced in two different batches, and each batch was still released at cask strength. So, these aren’t two different proof points of the same batch with one proofed down slightly more than the other, they’re actually two different batches. I couldn’t get info on the batch size of each, but I would love to try both to see if there’s any subtle differences between the two. The hunt continues!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Auburn color (1.5) with a viscosity of a thin simple syrup.

NOSE: Bright, fruity nose with a mild astringency. The most tropical fruit I’ve gotten from a Maker’s Mark release before with coconut, melon, and tangerine. Familiar notes of caramel and Maraschino cherry syrup. Vanilla cream, light musty oak, and a touch of baking spice.

PALATE: The mouthfeel matches the appearance. The palate delivers a fruity profile, but a bit darker and more stone fruit leaning than the nose: apricot, slightly tart cherries, and dates. Caramel and a touch of dark chocolate build in as I hold it on my palate. Toasted oak weaves in and out of the sweetness. Like the nose, there’s a kiss of baking spice, but it presents a little more like ginger and a touch of cardamom.

FINISH: Long, dry finish. The oak and dark chocolate transition well from the palate. The baking spice ramps up briefly with ginger, clove, and allspice before dying off except for the ginger. The fruity notes have pretty much completely disappeared except for a few fleeting hints of cherry. But the surprising note is a prominent vanilla custard note that shows up in force long after all other notes have faded except for a slightly tannic oak note; I don’t normally find vanilla custard so prominently this late in most bourbons.

RATING: 7.0/10

OVERALL: This is an interesting pour; I don’t think it fits the regular Maker’s Mark profile, but based on what is written on the bottle (for this chapter they are “pursuing unique taste visions…”), I guess it’s to be expected to be different. While there are some familiar notes throughout, it has a bright, fruity profile on the nose and, to some degree, on the palate that doesn’t make me think of Maker’s Mark. While the palate is complex and turns a bit dark towards the end, it is a relatively clean, delicate profile that makes me think of Japanese whiskey. It’s certainly a departure from the first two releases of this series. While it’s not my preferred profile, I know some people that would find this perfect for their palate. It's not bad, and the whiskey nerd side of me is really intrigued at how it's so different from The Keeper's Release while having the same finishing staves (again, anyone with knowledge of how these are different, hit me up!). It just leaves me wishing it was more like the first two releases of this series.

 

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