Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2026 'The Stewards Release' Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
(750 ml)

About the Whiskey:
The Maker's Wood Finishing Series was inspired by the success of Maker’s Mark 46 - which takes the classic, and classically consistent bourbon, and ages it with 10 French oak staves added directly into the barrel. 

For the Wood Finishing Series, Maker's creates limited releases, incorporating new and unique staves, and bottling un-chill filtered at cask strength. The Maker's wheated mash bill of 70% Corn, 16% Wheat, and 14% Malted Barley remains the same. 

Crafted to amplify the balanced wood sugars, softer tannins and lasting finish achieved with our low 110 BEP. Special finishing staves were used to amplify notes of vanilla and sweet spice.

For bourbon, this process delivers more flavor, smoothness, even color. The extra water helps improve the congener concentration, which imparts flavors of caramel, vanilla and baking spice. These decrease as BEPs increase.

Wood Finishing Series is a collection of one-of-a-kind expressions that use an innovative wood stave-finishing technique to enhance distinctive characteristics already present in the brand’s iconic bourbon. 10 specially selected oak staves are used to create unique, limited edition expressions of Maker's Mark.

This chapter of Wood Finishing Series will focus on the teams behind Maker’s Mark. Our makers. These whiskies will celebrate the unique role they play in delivering the Maker's experience. 

For 2026, the Stewards Release celebrates the teams who oversee every step of our production process. Their attention to detail and meticulous care ensures excellence in everything we do, from the initial liquid to the final bottling. This release is a tribute to the true “stewards” of the distillery.

113.3 proof

Awards/Reviews

"The Stewards Release is a more fruit-forward stave-finished bourbon in Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series that offers a sweeter, slightly more nuanced take on the series' signature oak-heavy flavor profile. Opens with cherry and raspberry upfront that is nicely complemented with French vanilla, toasted oak, cinnamon, and a floral honeysuckle scent in the background. The palate begins with sweet oak and soon transitions to cinnamon slurry and stewed raspberries to good effect. The finish begins slightly bitter thanks to tannic oak, but quickly sheds it to reveal cherry, baking spices, barrel char, and barrel-aged maple syrup." - Breaking Bourbon

"The Stewards Release showcases a bolder, woodier nose, almost evergreen in construction, tinged with menthol and eucalyptus notes, plus a stony, almost gravelly edge. Time in glass evokes a touch of barnyard, almost sweaty. On the palate The Stewards Release is wholly agreeable though definitely earthy-savory, with overtones of walnut shells, hemp rope, and anise dominating the experience. It’s perhaps unlike any other Maker’s Mark whiskey I’ve ever encountered, pouring on notes of wet asphalt, gunpowder, and more of that licorice-fueled anise character." - Drinkhacker