Yo Boozehounds,
Sorry about the delay in getting my spirit collection quarter-finalists to face off with each other, but I have been busy with the start of wine event season here in Toronto, having attended the Icons of Wine event and the County in the City wine event in rapid succession.
So after acquiring the Eagle Rare 17 Year Old and George T. Stagg bourbons, I decided to add to my collection with another round of high-enders. I acquire the trio of Maker’s 46, the W.L. Weller 12 Year Old wheated bourbon and the Elijah Craig 12 Year Old bourbon.
MAKER’S MARK 46 – The original Makers Mark is of course a sweet and rather uncomplex standard bourbon that can be found everywhere. The Markers Mark 46 is their high-end bourbon which has been aged with additional toasted French oak staves in barrel.
Dark golden brown in the glass, a glistening full body, and a nose of caramel, vanilla and black pepper spice. In the mouth, sweet flavors of toasted corn, vanilla, caramel, oak wood and a strong black pepper spice carry into a hot finish.
To me, this seems just as spicy as if a rye component were used. The toasted French oak seems to have put back in the spice that is missing without rye in the mashbill. However, it works very well with the sweeter bourbon taste of Marker’s. Be warned that the heat on this bourbon approaches Grappa fire water levels. RECOMMENDED
W.L. WELLER 12 YEAR OLD BOURBON – This is of course the progenitor of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection’s William Larue Weller which is coming this July to the LCBO. It proudly proclaims its status as the original wheated bourbon on the ugly front label of its rather drab and out of date styled bottle.
This is also golden brown in the glass with a glistening full body, but the major difference is that while the nose also carries toasted corn, vanilla and caramel aromas, there is only a slight oaky aroma and absolutely no black pepper spice on the nose. The heat is also a lot milder and thus doesn’t burn my nostrils as much.
Much to my shock, however, the mouth has a very high black pepper spice component that actually dominates the bourbon. There is vanilla and toffee and oak to be sure but nowhere near as much as the Maker’s 46 and they fade rather quickly into a surprisingly short finish. The heat is also milder but seems to last as long as that of the Maker’s due to the short finish of the other flavors.
ELIJAH CRAIG 12 YEAR OLD – Golden brown color but a touch lighter than the two bourbons above. Caramel nose is sweeter, milder and far more subtle than the first two bourbons above. Almost imperceptible, actually.
In the mouth, sweet oak and caramel flavors dominate and carry through into toasted corn and vanilla. Heat is smoothed out by the long aging and is mild and smooth. This bourbon is shockingly close to Cognac in taste. In fact, if it had a touch more acidity it would actually beat some of my XO Cognacs in a blind taste test. RECOMMENDED
FIRST PLACE WINNER: Elijah Craig 12 Year Old
SECOND PLACE WINNER: Maker’s 46
THIRD PLACE WINNER: W.L. Weller
Wow. I’m really surprised by these results. To be completely honest, if the Maker’s were aged to 12 years of age I think it would have won. The Elijah Craig beat it because of its superior smoothness. I’m a little surprised at the high spice flavors and short finish of the W.L. Weller. The Elijah Craig seemed a lot better balanced.
This said, all three were pretty good bourbons and very good QPR values but I have to with Maker’s and the Elijah Craig as my recommendations. On to the quarterfinals.