The Community Batch from Maker’s Mark is a private barrel selection produced to benefit the Lee Initiative program that helps people in the service industry in need. Maker’s Mark has been doing this bottling since 2020 when Covid-19 placed so many restaurant and bar workers in dire straits and they partnered with Chef Edward Lee to help these workers out. The profits from the sale of this bottling all go to the Lee Initiative program. Every year Maker’s Mark creates a different taste profile using their staves for this whiskey. This year the bottle was produced with the following staves – P2 19%, Cu 26%, 46 1%, Mn 33%, and Sp 11%. We purchased a bottle of this fine whiskey when it was released through the Whiskey Drop program and Matt and I sat down to taste it the other day. Here are our tasting notes.
Maker’s Mark Community Batch 2023
Proof: 109.8
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel. chocolate, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, maple syrup, cotton candy, and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, milk chocolate, cardamom, hint of citrus, apples, and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the chocolate comes forward and the cardamom is enhanced. Tasted with a pecan and and the oak comes forward.
- Matt: Caramel. cocoa butter, cherries and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the cherry flavor. The pecan made it spicy with ginger and cayenne pepper.
Finish:
- Mike: Short with oak and lingering caramel sweetness. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and added some cardamom spice to the finish. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood and cardamom spice.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood, caramel and cocoa. The dried cranberry made the finish rich with milk chocolate. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood and cayenne pepper.
I would pair this fine whiskey with a My Father The Judge cigar. I think the chocolate notes in the smoke would pair well with the sweetness of the whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller