Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength originally started its life as a distillery only release back in 2015. This release was designed to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Maker’s Mark 46. The limited release proved success, and for the 10th Anniversary, Maker’s decided to release it again in 2020 in a slight broader release. In 2021, they expanded the release even further, and I knew based on the solid offerings of their standard Maker’s, Maker’s 46, and their limited releases, this would be a must try. So was it worth the hunt?
Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength
Sight: A robust tawny.
Smell: Spiced honey and baklava lead. Stewed cherries and a perfumed vanilla note express themselves. Fresh cherries mix with spicy oak notes and there’s a bit of heat. A milk chocolate element joins in toward the end.
Sip: There’s a sizable amount of weight to start things off, but it’s still smooth despite a hint of heat. An immediate explosion of baking spices come forward and are toned down by the appearance of vanilla sugar and dried cherries. Caramel drizzles out, but is reigned in by brandied Bing cherries. A slight nuttiness and preserved figs show up with a little stone fruit.
Savor: The nuts and spices are accompanied by a tingly finish and lots of lingering tannins.
Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength is packed with flavor, almost to the point of being super saturated. The flavor complexity is delicious, but almost overwhelms at moments. The flavors kind of supersize the normal Maker’s Mark Cask Strength / Maker’s Mark. Where it gets a little lost is the French Oak finish. Somehow it loses some of the smoothness and finesse of it’s proofed down relative. Water teases this smoothness out, but it’s much more layered – almost like two different whiskey’s.
In Cocktails
In a Manhattan Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength continues it’s single handed push for every spice it can grab out of the pantry. It only reaches for these after it runs through a quick wall of vanilla and a series of preserved cherries. The weight is incredible, and it kind of gets into syrupy territory. The finish grabs more oak and wood notes, and the whole experience lingers dramatically. As it warms up, it picks up more warm vanilla notes, and hints of brown sugar.
In Review – Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength
Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength is an enjoyable offering, but the extra horsepower of cask strength doesn’t necessarily add to the fun. This offering is a bit of a mystery to me, as it seems to combine the strength of Maker’s Mark Cask Strength without the finesse of the finishing for Maker’s Mark 46. The result is like pushing a V8 engine into a Miata. Sure, it’s bonkers and entertaining, but it doesn’t necessarily make it any better for daily driving or track use. The biggest issue is at $60, this puts it at almost $20 more than Maker’s Mark Cask Strength and $25 dollars more than Maker’s Mark 46. For a sipper, this might make sense, but as a cocktail whiskey, this is a hard pass.