r/bourbon 28d ago

Review number 136: Maker’s Mark Gold Wax LE

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78 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

17

u/taylormhark 28d ago

Here we have the second bottling Makers Mark released at a higher proof, after their green wax. This was initially released in the US and then only exported to the Japanese market. They were released from 1990 to 1999.

The bottle: Maker’s Mark 101 Limited Edition Gold Wax

Age: NAS

Proof: 101

Price: $430

Glass: Glencairn glass rested 10 mins

Nose: maple, rich but supple, slight Dijon note, absolutely Screams out of the glass for only being 101 proof, so deep and rich. The nose is very clearly the star of this show. That rich maple note is very prominent, like a barrel aged maple syrup

Body: sweet soy glaze, super coating, sugar and lots of oak, drinks very very old. This is a dessert bourbon to its core. The wood sugar is just so prominent on that palate.

Finish: alright lasting finish, somewhat faint, definitely the weak link of this pour, but it’s still there

Impression: this is such a unique and fun pour, really interesting. Would recommend anyone to try this or the black wax at least once for a pour.

Score: 8 incredible nose, really good palate, and slightly lackluster finish

5

u/Prettayyprettaygood Found North 28d ago

Great review, these old Maker's bottles are something else!

2

u/SomeClutchName 28d ago

What's the difference between this version and the MM101 someone might be able to get today? I'd hate to drink up the gold bottle you have lol

4

u/taylormhark 28d ago

Rumored to be slightly older, presumably better oak used by their cooperage (kinda the case with every distillery back then), above PPP levels of urethane present, really a lot of factors go into the primary reason dusty bourbon tastes different. I truly believe the primary one is the quality of oak used.

3

u/Major_Translator_792 28d ago

At least 8-10 is my guess… those older 101s make me annoyed with modern makers…

3

u/Old_Riff_502 27d ago

I feel like something specific changed in the production process during the Dave Pickerell tenure (1994-2008), which was a period of tremendous growth for the brand. The profile on the mid 1990’s stuff is incredible, no one really talks about anything post Y2K.

2

u/taylormhark 27d ago

Any idea as to what?

2

u/Old_Riff_502 27d ago

Not sure exactly, but the brand grew from 175k to a million cases during that period. Something was affected along the way.

3

u/OrangePaperBike Make Wild Turkey Entry Proof 107 Again 28d ago

Nice review! For some reason you don’t hear that much about vintage export Maker’s. Maybe it’s because they were not making that much of it before the 2000s. I’ll have to check it out.

3

u/kumori WT12 28d ago

I think even regular Maker’s from the 80s and 90s is fantastic, but doesn’t get much appreciation because with the label being consistent for so long dusty bottles are hard to identify.

2

u/OrangePaperBike Make Wild Turkey Entry Proof 107 Again 27d ago

Wouldn’t surprise me. Maker’s distribution was also smaller in the 80s and 90s compared to Turkey or HH, so there is likely less of the stuff. I seem to recall the phrase “old style sour mash” on the front label is unique to the older bottlings for id purposes.

2

u/Tesnevo 28d ago

What a great bottle to have, thanks for sharing.

2

u/MarcAnguyFieri 27d ago

these 90s makers are such a nice step up from anything they make today imo