Maker's Mark
Maker's Mark
57.35%
NAS
Set to release in mid-May 2025, Star Hill Farm Whisky is the first new mashbill and non-bourbon produced by Maker's Mark in its 70-plus-year history. The 2025 release of Star Hill Farm Whisky is a blend of two mashbills: one made from 100% malted soft red winter wheat and the other from 70% soft red winter wheat and 30% malted barley. The whiskey is bottled at 114.7 proof and has a suggested retail price of $100. It will be a limited release, available at select retailers nationwide. It will also available to buy at the Maker's Mark Distillery for those who book a Star Hill Farm Whisky experience at https://www.makersmark.com/distillery/visit-us. Star Hill Farm Whisky is named after the 1,100-acre farm that's home to the Maker's Mark Distillery — a fitting name for this line, which is very farm- and sustainability-centric. As the first and only bourbon distillery to achieve B Corp Certification in Kentucky and the first distillery in the world to achieve certification from Regenified, the leading regenerative certification company, Maker's Mark places a lot of emphasis on its sustainability efforts. Maker's Mark says that alongside this whiskey release, it has formed an alliance with Regenified and Understanding Ag to launch The Maker's Mark Regenerative Alliance, which will invite farms, bars and restaurants to pledge to adopt regenerative practices and promote the benefits of those practices. Star Hill Farm Whisky will be the first to carry an Estate Whiskey certification — a new designation by The Estate Whiskey Alliance™ group established by the University of Kentucky. Other distilleries such as Frey Ranch, Minden Mill, Heaven Hill and Jeptha Creed are also members. Estate whiskeys are produced entirely on the distillery estate, using grains sourced from estate-owned or -controlled land.
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The nose is sweet, floral and wheaty. Loads of wheat funk leaps out initially but subsides after a little time in the glass. The wheat is joined by a prickle of heat and sweet notes galore: confectioners’ sugar, praline, caramel, macadamia, a touch of banana bread, golden raisins.
Great viscosity on the palate. There's a good amount of heat here but nothing unmanageable. The profile is largely sweet and nutty, flanked by a solid dose of tannin and leather, plus a good bit of minerality. The sweet notes come through with maraschino cherry, rich caramel cake, cocoa and cinnamon. There's also a bitter grapefruit peel note in there.
Minerality continues onto the finish, joined by butterscotch, dark chocolate-covered walnuts, leather, cinnamon and honey.
A very nice endeavor by Maker’s! Sweet, floral, rich and nuanced. There’s a bitter, tannic side to the pour that works in tandem with the sweetness to spectacular effect at times but at other moments takes a bit too much focus off the sweet, rich notes. The tannic profile adds some complexity; I just wish it were dialed down a notch or two — minor complaint about an altogether spectacular whiskey. Make no mistake: Maker’s Mark’s first wheat whiskey is a roaring success.
92
Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.
