It’s in the 20’s Fahrenheit here in North Carolina with snow inbound, so here’s a hot take: I think, top to bottom, Makers Mark is a better wheated bourbon than Weller.

There, I said it. Flame on.

To me, standard Makers is just a little shy of Weller SR, but Makers Cask Strength to me is a dead-on peer and rival of the venerated Weller Antique 107, and I outright prefer it to Weller 12 or CYPB. And here’s the kicker: I can walk into nearly any well-stocked ABC store in Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties and there’s a whole palate of these sitting there at Weller 107’s SRP. Except no one has seen Weller in half a decade but you can take home a half-dozen of these for the price of a single Weller bottle on secondary. And at the top of the food chain, I’m always going to lean towards Private Selection over Full Proof.

And when Cask Strength goes on sale for $40, like when I bought this one, then to quote Jerry Seinfeld: forget about it.

Nose: A torrent of caramel and creme brûlée to kick things off, with classic wheater soft grass and wet earth following. A touch of cinnamon Red Hots candy emerges late.

Palate: Brown sugar and caramel burst through in strength, followed by a transition to cinnamon sugar and maraschino cherry. The caramel hangs around in support to the cherry notes. I forget how much I sometimes miss the maraschino cherry I get in non-stave finished Makers.

Finish: A slight minty twang hits as you swallow, but it’s quickly replaced with cinnamon and caramel verging towards butterscotch. It’s a longer finish (longer then Weller 107, just saying…)

Summary: It’s a rock solid premium daily sipper at $50, and a steal at $40. I could even see where someone who really craves classic bourbon flavors would prefer this over any other entry in the Makers lineup, although my heart remains with the freelancing Private Selection. It may not have any flavor surprises for you, but I wager if this got slipped into a Weller blind tasting, then people might be surprised.

Image courtesy of Jon who also writes on Low Class & High Proof.

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