Maker’s Mark Announces Limited Release of Seared Bu 1-3 Bourbon

For the first time in the history of Maker’s Mark, the Loretto, Kentucky distillery is offering a limited release single stave finished Bourbon. At just over 1,400 bottles, Maker’s Mark Seared Bu 1-3 will be the first Bourbon Maker’s Mark has ever made available in such limited quantity. Developed within the Maker’s Mark wood lab as a potential second generation offering for the Maker’s Mark Private Select program, this Bourbon is derived from 10 experimental virgin seared and sous-vide French oak staves. Seared Bu 1-3 is named after those experimental staves, and will be made available at the Maker’s Mark Distillery and select Kentucky retailers in 375ml bottles.

Seared Bu 1-3 was created following the reception of Maker’s Mark Private Select, a first-of-its-kind barrel program. The Maker’s Mark team has continued to experiment with new wood staves and cooking techniques that extract and accentuate tasting notes found in Maker’s Mark. The Seared Bu 1-3 stave, while able to yield a delicious Bourbon on its own, did not entirely complement the other staves in the Private Select program. As such, while the distillery is not planning on putting this into production, they wanted to share what they had – a whisky they loved, born from Maker’s DNA.

As with all Private Select liquids, Seared Bu 1-3 will be bottled at cask strength. Just over 1,400 bottles will be made available at an SRP of $39.99 per 375ml bottle. The Maker’s Mark Distillery notably produced only one bourbon for over 50 years before the introduction of Maker’s 46 in 2010.

Caroline Paulus
Caroline Paulus is the Senior Editor for The Bourbon Review. She lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky. Follow her on Instagram @misswhiskeyhistorian to keep up with her latest in bourbon news - and a few old finds, too.