Review #199: Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farms Private Selection: Milk Chocolate Truffle

AGE: NAS

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

PROOF: 111.8

COST: $80 for 750mL bottle (at distillery)

Maker’s Mark is what first got me into bourbon and I always wanted to hand dip my own bottle. When I first visited the distillery a few years ago, I was excited for the opportunity and wanted to make my own slam dunk. However, I was thwarted by their wax vats in that they bottom out before you can dunk it too deep.

After having a few years to think about how I would get my slam dunk, I returned to Star Hill Farms a month ago and got to try out a new plan to get this bottle covered in a hearty amount of red wax. While my new technique yielded some decent runs, it still didn’t get as much wax on it as I would like. This was partially because the young lady at the distillery was quick to stop my attempt. She also came very close to taking my bottle away and having me dip another one. She intervened as I was pulling it out of the wax, thus the reason for the waxy fingerprints on the front label and on the sides of the bottle. In the end, she let me keep the bottle but asked me not to share with many. As she said that, all I could think about was how sincerely unlucky she was because this bottle would ultimately see its own Bourbz Review on r/bourbon at some point…

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Golden, mahogany in color (1.6), oily with medium bodied, slow legs and a nice ring of tear drops that fall later.

NOSE: Lots of sweetness with a little kick! Caramel and cherry Twizzlers start off. A warm melted pot of baker’s chocolate and a healthy amount of allspice pile in. Vanilla cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg are picked up late. There’s a little toasted earthiness lingering in the background that reminds me of a praline. After nosing this one a few times there’s a noticeable sweet oak and cherry syrup that start to dominate the end of the nose.

PALATE: A soft, oily mouthfeel that really coats the palate well. This lands with slightly burnt brown sugar and cherry reduction. Toasted vanilla bean and bitter chocolate tone down the sweetness versus the nose and finish. Nutmeg and burnt cinnamon sticks add some spice and earthiness. With a good chew, a blend of dark chocolate, Maraschino cherries, and nutmeg really balance each other out.

FINISH: Long, sweet finish with a noticeable amount of sweet oak and toasted cherry wood. That burnt cinnamon stick note from the palate transfers over to the finish. Pink peppercorn brings some more spice but cannot outperform the sweetness of heavily caramelized vanilla Crème Brulé and Rollo candies. As the sweeter notes begin to soften, a heavy charred oak note starts to enter along with a little clove. It does take a while for the sweetest notes to fade, but they do eventually, and it ultimately concludes with a blend of burnt brown sugar and charred oak bringing this to a close.

RATING: 8.1/10

OVERALL: You can’t go wrong with any Maker’s Mark Private Selection! I expected a pick from the distillery itself to probably be more aligned with the normal MM profile, but this was fun because it was unique and a departure from the normal profile. The stave profile of this pick with its 5 Roasted French Mendiant staves really helps with this, providing all those roasty and chocolate notes. The other 5 staves being Baked American Pure 2 and Seared French Cuvee help bolster those other sweeter notes of caramel and vanilla and a touch of nuttiness. However, what I wasn’t expecting was how much spice there still was in this barrel, particularly on the palate. It wasn’t offensive or anything (and don’t get me wrong, this was still a sweet bourbon), it just caught me by surprise. This also drank dangerously under its proof with how soft it was on the palate and no proof heat – I would say it drinks more like a 96-100 proof bourbon than the 112 proof it is. A fun pour to match the fun dip I got on this bottle!

 

1 | Disgusting | Watershed Apple Brandy Finished Bourbon

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, Hillrock Estate Sauternes CS

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, BBCo Disco #7 and #13, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08, RR15