Maker’s Mark’s Wood Finishing Series continues with 2025’s The Keepers Release, a direct follow-up to last year’s The Heart Release, named in honor of the “keepers” of Maker’s Mark — the folks that work in the rickhouses monitoring the aging of the whiskeys.

The stave finishing here is simple: 10 virgin toasted American staves go into the barrel to polish off the whiskey during its final months in barrel. (By comparison, The Heart Release was finished with just two French oak staves.) Bottle proof will vary by batch, ranging from about 110 to 114.

Who’s ready to dive in?

Maker’s Mark The Keepers Release 2025 Limited Release Review

This is a real beauty from the start: The nose is clean but wood-forward (as was the case with 2024), reminscent of eucalyptus wood in addition to the usual gently charred oak. A whiff of licorice is detectable along with a touch of raisiny prune, though it struggles to be witnessed above the crash of woodiness.

The palate is a showcase for what the aromatics hint at: A bright punch of rum raisin kicks things off, followed by lively notes of orange peel, Maraska cherry, and silky vanilla-laced caramel. The slightly tannic nose continues to play the foil against a palate that is lively with sweetness and fruit — one of the most effusive Maker’s Mark expressions I can remember tasting in recent years. Some milk chocolate notes and a hint of mint soften up the finish and evoke a dessert-like quality, though you never quite break away from that tannic oakiness, which clings to the tip of the tongue as the conclusion fades away. Believe me, all that does is add some complexity to what is all-in-all a delightful whiskey from start to finish. Extended time in glass evokes almond notes — both extract and shell.

Both criminally affordable and criminally delicious. Don’t sleep on this one.

109.2 proof. Reviewed: Batch 2 of 5.

A / $75 / makersmark.com 

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