The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Maker's Mark Private Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
BourbonIssue 96

Maker's Mark Private Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Maker's Mark · Maker's Mark Distillery

$68109.2 proofNASLoretto, Kentucky, USA
Maker's Mark Private Select takes the distillery's wheated DNA and amplifies it through a custom stave program that lets each bottling tell a different story. This is hands-on bourbon-making at its most deliberate — no two selections are identical. It rewards attention with layered, cask-driven complexity.

Kit Aromas

Tasting Notes

Nose

Rich caramel and baking spices greet you first, followed by toasted oak and a thread of dried orange peel. Underneath, there's a creamy vanilla note and faint wheat-bread sweetness.

Palate

Full-bodied and layered. Butterscotch and brown sugar dominate the mid-palate, with charred oak providing a structural backbone. A gentle wheat softness rounds the edges, while cinnamon and a touch of leather add complexity.

Finish

Long and warming, with caramel, charred oak, and a lingering maple sweetness that fades slowly into dry spice.

Specifications
Mash Bill
70% Corn, 16% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 14% Malted Barley
Barrel Type
New charred American oak with custom finishing staves
Bottled in Bond
No
Single Barrel
No
Wheated
Yes
Serve & Pair

Cocktail Suggestion

The Cooper's Handshake — 2 oz Maker's Mark Private Select · 0.75 oz sweet vermouth · 0.25 oz Licor 43 · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · Stir over ice, strain into a coupe, garnish with an expressed orange peel.

Food Pairing

Brown butter pecan pie with flaky sea salt

The Story

Hand-dipped in Loretto, Kentucky, each Private Select bottle is finished with a unique combination of custom wood staves chosen by the maker or retailer, ensuring no two expressions are alike.

Train These Aromas
Comments

Be the first to comment.

Leave a comment

0 / 4,000

First-time comments are reviewed before appearing. Be kind, be specific, no spam.

More from Maker's Mark Distillery
More Bourbon Reviews
Augusta Distillery 10 Year Old Buckner's Unfiltered Cask Strength Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon

Augusta Distillery 10 Year Old Buckner's Unfiltered Cask Strength Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Buckner's

This single barrel from Augusta Distillery is a masterclass in how a decade of char-level interaction transforms corn-based spirit into something profound and layered. The unfiltered, cask-strength presentation lets the barrel's notation speak without compromise. A bourbon where every sip reads like a deep mark left by time and fire.

$105130.6 proof
Driftless Glen Distillery 10 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon
Bourbon

Driftless Glen Distillery 10 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon

Driftless Glen

Driftless Glen proves that patience outside Kentucky's borders can yield remarkable bourbon. This 10-year single barrel delivers the depth and layered complexity of a well-aged whiskey with a distinctly Midwestern character—generous but unhurried. It's the kind of pour that needs no explanation, just a quiet room and an unhurried evening.

$100120 proof
Bluegrass Distillers Wheated Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Bourbon

Bluegrass Distillers Wheated Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon

Bluegrass Distillers

Bluegrass Distillers proves that discipline yields beauty. This bottled-in-bond wheated bourbon is a study in clarity through constraint—a small Lexington distillery working within the strictest federal standards to produce a whiskey that says exactly what it means and nothing more. At 100 proof, it delivers surprising depth without ever raising its voice.

$50100 proof
Legent Kentucky Straight Bourbon Partially Finished in Wine & Sherry Casks
Bourbon

Legent Kentucky Straight Bourbon Partially Finished in Wine & Sherry Casks

Legent

Legent represents a rare East-meets-West collaboration between Beam's master distiller Fred Noe and Suntory's chief blender Shinji Fukuyo, where the simple act of exposing bourbon to different cask atmospheres transforms the spirit entirely. The partial finishing in wine and sherry barrels allows air and wood to reshape a classic bourbon profile into something layered and cosmopolitan. A compelling expression of how environment—the breath between barrels—shapes what ends up in your glass.

$4094 proof