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Maker’s Mark has their Cask Strength and
their Maker’s 46. For Maker’s 46, they actually
take some French oak staves that they heavily
char and put into the barrel with the whiskey
for an additional two to three months. This
really changes the character of the bourbon,
giving it more depth in flavor and bringing out
the woodiness of the whiskey. As far as how it
sells in our store, it’s one of our best sellers. I
was surprised to find we sell just about twice as
many of the 1.75 liter bottles of Maker’s Mark
as we do of the 750 milliliter bottles. I don’t
necessarily look at the sales SKUs for the other
departments all that often, but that was a really
big surprise. I thought the fifth would be the
most popular, but it’s actually the half-gallon
size that’s our best-seller.
I’ve never had a cigar without some sort
of beverage—whether it had alcohol in it or
not. Customers who smoke cigars often look
for the perfect pairing. Many whiskies are
too powerful for a nice Connecticut Shade,
but Maker’s Mark works well with the Alec
Bradley American Classic if you wanted to
keep it on the less expensive side. If you’ve
got the money and can find it, I definitely
recommend pairing it with a La Palina
Goldie. That said, it does have enough spice
in it to work well with sun-grown tobacco as
well—something that’s a solid medium, like
the La Flor de Las Antillas from My Father
Cigars or maybe the new Hoyo de Monterrey
La Amistad blended by A.J. Fernandez.
Strength- and body-wise, I wouldn’t go far
past a medium-bodied cigar, but one in the
mild-to-medium range would work well with
a glass of Maker’s Mark.
TB
Nick Douglas is the assistant
humidor manager/buyer for The
Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky.
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