Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series 2026 "The Stewards Release" Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 113.3 Proof 750ml

The people who make Maker's Mark have been making Maker's Mark at Star Hill Farm in Loretto, Kentucky since 1953. That is not a figure of speech. The distillery has never changed locations. Many of the families who work there have multi-generational connections to the property. The operations teams — the people who oversee quality, bottling, engineering, security, processing, and shipping, who guide the bourbon's journey from the first fermentation to the final bottle — are, in the most specific and the most literal sense, the stewards of the Maker's Mark tradition. The 2026 Wood Finishing Series honors them.

The Stewards Release is the third installment in the second Wood Finishing Series — a five-year annual program running from 2024 through 2028, each release honoring a different team at Star Hill Farm. The Heart Release (2024) honored the distillery team. The Keepers Release (2025) honored the warehouse team who rotate every barrel by hand. The Stewards Release (2026) honors the operations teams: quality, bottling, engineering, security, processing, shipping. The series will continue through 2027 and 2028 with two more team tributes before concluding.

What distinguishes the Stewards Release from its predecessors is what Breaking Bourbon's review identified most specifically: "much more fruit-focused compared to the previous two Wood Finishing Series releases." While the Heart and Keepers Releases leaned heavily on barrel notes, the Stewards Release leads with cherry and raspberry — vivid, fruit-forward, and specifically complemented by French vanilla, toasted oak, cinnamon, and honeysuckle. The official tasting notes confirm: cherry pie and vanilla bean on the nose, honey and toasted marshmallow and candied ginger through the palate, stone fruit and salted caramel on the finish. The stave profile — 10 virgin toasted American oak staves — amplifies the dessert and fruit characteristics already present in the Maker's Mark wheated bourbon base without the bitterness of charred staves.

Two batches were released at different proof levels: 109.6 proof and 113.3 proof. Your bottle is the higher-proof expression — 56.65% ABV — the most concentrated and the most specifically stave-forward of the two Stewards Release presentations.

Origins & Craftsmanship

The Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series was first introduced as an innovative way to explore how specifically selected wood stave profiles — the same stave-insertion technique that Bill Samuels Jr. developed for the original Maker's Mark 46 — can amplify different characteristics already present in the classic Maker's Mark wheated bourbon base. The technique is specific and deliberately controlled: 10 custom oak staves are inserted into the barrel alongside the already-matured Maker's Mark bourbon and the barrel is rolled into the limestone cellar for a defined finishing period, the staves' specific toast and char profile depositing their most characteristic compounds into the bourbon without the additional aging time that longer primary maturation would require.

The second Wood Finishing Series — running 2024 through 2028 — was conceived by the Maker's Mark team under Dr. Blake Layfield, the distillery's Master Distiller, as a specifically people-centered program: each annual release honoring a different team whose specific expertise and specific dedication makes Maker's Mark possible. Dr. Layfield, who joined Maker's Mark and rose to Master Distiller, describes the philosophy directly: "Consumers today want exceptional whisky, but they're also interested in the values behind the brand and the people who make it. Bartenders feel the same way. They want to know more about the process, the ingredients and the craftsmanship in what they pour. The Stewards Release brings that philosophy to life."

The stave profile chosen for the Stewards Release is 10 virgin toasted American oak staves — virgin oak (never previously used), toasted rather than charred, whose specific contribution to the Maker's Mark wheated base amplifies the dessert and fruit characteristics most directly without the more aggressive tannin and bitterness that charred staves would produce. The virgin toasted staves' most specifically flavor-active compounds — the wood sugars caramelized to various degrees by the toasting process, the vanillin released by the heat, the specific spice compounds that emerge from the heated wood — depositing into the wheated bourbon across the finishing period to produce the cherry pie, candied ginger, toasted marshmallow, and salted caramel character that distinguishes the Stewards Release from every prior Wood Finishing Series expression.

The two-batch format is a specific and commercially transparent decision: 109.6 proof and 113.3 proof, both from the same stave-finishing program, offering buyers the choice between a more accessible proof entry and the higher-concentration expression. The 113.3 proof batch delivers the stave finishing's most concentrated and most specifically fruit-forward and dessert-forward character at the full batch strength without dilution.

Critics Reviews

Breaking Bourbon (review published April 2026): "This release is much more fruit-focused compared to the previous two Wood Finishing Series releases — and even Maker's Mark bourbon in general. 'The Stewards Release' 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."

Maker's Mark official tasting notes: Nose: "Bright aromas of cherry pie and vanilla bean, layered with honey, toasted marshmallow and candied ginger." Finish: "Stone fruit and salted caramel."

The Barrel Tap confirmed: "Cherry pie and vanilla bean aromatics, honey and toasted marshmallow sweetness, and a finish with stone fruit and salted caramel."

Robb Report (Jason Flicker — April 2026): "Released in two batches bottled at different strengths — one at 109.6 proof, the other at 113.3 proof. The Wood Finishing Series uses an innovative wood stave finishing technique to amplify the distinctive characteristics of Maker's Mark's signature bourbon."

Dr. Blake Layfield, Master Distiller, Maker's Mark: "Consumers today want exceptional whisky, but they're also interested in the values behind the brand and the people who make it. Bartenders feel the same way. They want to know more about the process, the ingredients and the craftsmanship in what they pour. The Stewards Release brings that philosophy to life, inspired by the operational leaders at Star Hill Farm and the care that goes into every step of production."

Rob Samuels, 8th Generation Managing Director: "From the beginning, Maker's Mark has been guided by my grandparents' pursuit of exceptional flavor and deep respect for everyone involved in crafting it."

Tasting Profile

Nose Rich amber with warm copper highlights — the virgin toasted American oak stave finishing's combined color contribution alongside the classic Maker's Mark wheated bourbon base. The nose opens with the quality that Breaking Bourbon identified as the Stewards Release's most immediately differentiating characteristic from all prior Wood Finishing Series expressions: cherry and raspberry upfront — vivid, bright, and specifically fruit-forward in a way that the Heart and Keepers releases were not. Cherry pie adds the most specifically warm and the most dessert-adjacent interpretation of the cherry note — not raw fresh cherry but the cooked, slightly sweetened, crust-adjacent quality of a specifically American baked good. Vanilla bean adds the warm confectionary sweetness that the virgin toasted staves' vanillin release most directly produces. Honey adds warmth and secondary sweetness. Toasted marshmallow adds the most specifically unusual and the most specifically 2026-Stewards-Release-distinctive secondary aromatic quality — warm, slightly caramelized, and adding the most indulgent and the most broadly appealing dessert dimension. Candied ginger adds the most specifically spiced and the most memorably unusual tertiary note. French vanilla and toasted oak add structural depth. A floral honeysuckle background note adds the most delicate and the most specifically feminine floral quality. At 113.3 proof the intensity is present and concentrated — more stave character and more fruit concentration than the 109.6 batch.

Palate Sweet oak leading, then cinnamon slurry and stewed raspberries — Breaking Bourbon's most accurate and the most specifically tasting-focused palate sequence. The entry delivers sweet oak first — the virgin toasted staves' most immediate and the most directly wood-sugar contribution arriving with genuine warmth before the fruit takes over. Cinnamon builds through the mid-palate with the specific slurry-thick quality that the virgin toasted staves produce most specifically — warm, concentrated, and adding the most specifically dessert-spice dimension. Stewed raspberries add the most vivid and the most specifically berry-forward fruit concentration. Honey, toasted marshmallow, and candied ginger carry through from the nose into the palate with the dessert-rich layering that the official tasting notes identify most accurately. The 113.3-proof warmth builds progressively — present, building, and requiring the splash of water that the brand specifically recommends for opening the more subtle fruit and floral dimensions that the higher proof can initially obscure.

Finish Cherry, baking spices, barrel char, and barrel-aged maple syrup — Breaking Bourbon's most complete finish characterization, confirmed in a close that transitions from a slight initial bitterness from the tannic virgin oak into the more generous cherry, spice, and maple sweetness. Stone fruit and salted caramel from the official tasting note provide the most luxurious and the most satisfying secondary close qualities — the stone fruit's warmth and the salted caramel's sweet-savory tension making the finish the most specifically memorable and the most broadly compelling quality in the full Stewards Release experience. Long and warm at 113.3 proof.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

Neat at room temperature — allow 10 minutes of air for the cherry pie, vanilla bean, and toasted marshmallow aromatics to fully develop. A splash of water is the brand's own recommendation and the most transformative single serving addition: it opens the honeysuckle and candied ginger notes while integrating the 113.3-proof warmth into something particularly harmonious. Outstanding alongside cherry pie, peach cobbler, salted caramel desserts, dark chocolate, and any occasion where the most specifically dessert-leaning and the most specifically fruit-forward Wood Finishing Series release deserves the attention of a serious Maker's Mark collector.

Cocktail Suggestions

Stewards Old Fashioned (the natural home) 2 oz Maker's Mark Stewards Release 113.3 · 1 tsp honey syrup · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · 1 dash cherry bitters · expressed orange peel. Stirred over large ice. Honey syrup mirrors the official tasting note's honey palate quality — cherry bitters amplify the fruit-forward character that distinguishes the Stewards Release from all prior Wood Finishing Series expressions.

Maple Sour 2 oz Maker's Mark Stewards Release 113.3 · ¾ oz fresh lemon juice · ½ oz maple syrup · optional egg white. Shaken over ice, served up. Maple syrup echoes the barrel-aged maple syrup of the finish — the cherry and raspberry character aligning with fresh lemon in a sour that showcases the Stewards Release's most vivid fruit qualities.