2024 Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 'The Lost Recipes' No. 01 Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 700ml

2024 Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 'The Lost Recipes' No. 01 Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 700ml marks the thrilling debut of an experimental line that digs into the distillery's flavor archives. This innovative series was born out of pure curiosity at Star Hill Farm in Loretto, Kentucky, as the blending team sought to uncover hidden gems among the 1,001 possible wood stave combinations from their Private Selection program. Edition No. 01 serves a double purpose for bourbon enthusiasts by showcasing a completely unique, never-before-tasted recipe while simultaneously resurrecting the legendary, highly coveted Roasted French Mocha stave following its official retirement from the standard custom catalog.

The core concept of this 2024 limited printing is centered around wood science archaeology—specifically isolating how the retired Mocha stave interacts when combined with alternative wood profiles. To build this exact 10-stave finishing blueprint, the distillers mapped out a precise mathematical stave matrix. The barrel architecture utilizes 1 Baked American Pure 2 stave to anchor foundational sweetness, 3 Seared French Cuvée staves to introduce subtle fruit and vibrant spice, and a heavy-handed crown of 6 Roasted French Mocha staves. Fully matured, cask-strength Maker's Mark was finished with this custom stave combination for an extra nine weeks inside the estate's subterranean limestone cellars, allowing the liquid to heavily adapt to the toasted oak matrices.

As with all benchmark Maker's Mark liquid developments, this small-batch printing relies on their time-honored wheated mash bill, which swaps out harsh rye grains in favor of local soft red winter wheat. This specific mash bill lends a naturally sweet, creamier canvas that accommodates heavy wood stave extraction beautifully, keeping the high-proof spirit velvety rather than overly astringent. Bottled without chill filtration at a robust 111.9 proof (55.95% ABV), this inaugural 700ml release captures the full structural weight and deep flavor compounds extracted during this historic secondary wood degradation process.

Pouring a deep, reflective polished copper, 'The Lost Recipes' No. 01 yields a decadently rich and sweet nose. Initial aromas explode with warm baked bread, English toffee, and cinnamon banana bread, seamlessly giving way to deeper layers of dark mocha, butter cookies, and sweet oak. On the palate, the wheated bourbon rolls over the tongue with a thick, syrupy texture, bringing forward punchy flavors of dark chocolate caramel, roasted coffee beans, marzipan, and a bright pop of red apple and strawberry fruitiness. The finish is remarkably warm and of medium-to-long length, leaving behind a memorable trail of toasted wood spice, barrel char, milk chocolate, and lingering caramelized sugars.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: 111.9 (55.95% ABV)
• Age: NAS (Matured for roughly 6 years before secondary stave finishing)
• Origin: Loretto, Kentucky, United States
• Distillery: Maker's Mark Distillery
• Style/Class: Finished Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
• Composition: 70% corn, 16% soft red winter wheat, 14% malted barley
• Cask/Aging: Matured in new charred American white oak; finished with a custom 10-stave combination (1 Baked American Pure 2, 3 Seared French Cuvée, 6 Retired Roasted French Mocha)
• Series/Edition: The Lost Recipes Series, Edition No. 01 (2024 Release)
• Tasting Notes: Warm baked bread, English toffee, dark chocolate caramel, roasted coffee, marzipan, red berries, toasted wood spice, milk chocolate