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Maker's Mark lowering proof to meet demand

Lady Day

I'll Lock Up
Bartender
Messages
9,087
Location
Crummy town, USA
Okay, I KNOW Maker's isn't the best bourbon, it's barely mediocre, but its nostalgic.

Rob Samuels, chief operating officer and grandson of Maker's Mark Founder Bill Samuels, Sr., said this is a permanent decision that won’t be reversed when demand for bourbon slows down. Samuels said that bourbon has gone from the slowest growing spirits category to the fastest over the last 18 months, driven by growth overseas and demand from younger drinkers. An average bottle of Maker’s Mark takes six and half years to produce from start to finish, and since the company doesn’t buy or trade
whiskey, it’s been impossible to keep up.

The first bottle of Maker's Mark, with its signature red wax closure, was produced in 1958.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...0211_1_maker-s-mark-jim-beam-bourbon-drinkers

What say you, wise old Lounge?

I personally think the nostalgia of this seemingly only good for cocktails whisky is going to mess with a lot of cocktails because a lot of bourbons being made today are pretty dynamic or utter crap and might not play well mixed.

Thoughts?
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
I drink it straight, with a good amount of H2O. Don't like it in cocktails. (Is there an echo in here???)
I guess "with water" isn't straight. But you know what I mean.
 

Guttersnipe

One Too Many
Messages
1,942
Location
San Francisco, CA
In my experience, when you're talking about whiskey, the further north of 90 proof that you get, the less middle ground there is. In other words, fair to middling 80 proofs (and by this I mean cheap) often make great cocktails and some are even make decent sippers. But when 100 proofs, you either get amazing smoothness or scorching rocket fuel.

Also, while Maker's Mark isn't super popular among "mixoligists" and serious whiskey connoisseurs, it was one of the first premiums that was available on the national market. In the context of an era when Jim Beam and Jack Daniels were pretty much the only game in town, it was a fresh breath of air . . .
 

okbrewer

New in Town
Messages
23
Location
Oklahoma City
PLUS now you have to hurry and get a bottle of the watered down stuff because THAT is gonna be the collector's item. Sheesh!

I don't think they actually produced any of the watered down variety. They were just testing the water so to speak, and kinda like with New Coke, there was such an uproar that they decided not to go thru with it. What we may end up seeing Maker's and other distillers do (some are already doing this) is producing a white whiskey. Little or no time aging means product can be brought to the suppliers quicker and cheaper. Micro distillers do this to get product out faster.

On another note, Russel's Reserve 10 year old small batch has been my latest go-to. I can find it for less than $20, and it has plenty of nuance, vanilla, sweetness, spiciness, good stuff.

Bob R in OKC
 
I don't think they actually produced any of the watered down variety. They were just testing the water so to speak, and kinda like with New Coke, there was such an uproar that they decided not to go thru with it. What we may end up seeing Maker's and other distillers do (some are already doing this) is producing a white whiskey. Little or no time aging means product can be brought to the suppliers quicker and cheaper. Micro distillers do this to get product out faster.

On another note, Russel's Reserve 10 year old small batch has been my latest go-to. I can find it for less than $20, and it has plenty of nuance, vanilla, sweetness, spiciness, good stuff.

Bob R in OKC

Ah, another Jimmy and Eddie Russell fan eh? :p
 

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