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Maker’s Mark launches new collection to tap Brits’ thirst for American whisky

Published:  16 October, 2018

Maker’s Mark has produced a limited edition run of 252 Private Select bottles in the UK to tap Brits’ thirst for American whisky.

Produced with the Kentucky-based team of distillers and launched in partnership with Harvey Nichols, Maker’s Mark Private Select is pitched as a medium bodied whisky with a smooth complex finish.

Following a period of consultation on how the wood specifically imparts flavour to the liquid, a single fully matured barrel of Maker’s Mark is then infused with a combination of ten specially treated oak staves directly into the liquid with five unique styles to choose from, giving 1,001 different recipe combinations in a way that “enhances the complex profile to create a subtly nuanced and entirely new liquid style”.

The specially designed staves include Baked American Pure, Seared French Cuvee, Roasted French Mocha, Toasted French Spice and Maker's 46 - which across a nine-week period of maturation imparts differing levels of spice, sweetness and vanilla notes to the finished product.

The UK launch would build on “fantastic success” for Private Select in the US and came in light of “overwhelming demand” for new styles of Maker’s Mark, both in the UK and globally, said supplier Edrington-Beam Suntory.

“The desire for a specific Maker’s Mark single barrel programme is something we have been working on for a number of years as a result of overwhelming demand from consumers and key luxury partners,” said head of brands Nick Ganich.

The UK launch was a “watershed moment” for the brand as it enabled it to offer distributors, bars and retails customers the chance to work in partnership with the Maker’s Mark to create a bespoke handcrafted cask strength barrel aged liquid – specifically for their own consumer base, he added.

In the past year, sales of American whisky grew 4% in volume and 7% in value to £623 million, according to Edrington-Beam Suntory.

The launch of Private Select with Harvey Nichols, where it will be rolled out next week (22 October) will be closely followed with the launch of two Single Barrels with The Whisky Shop from November.

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