This was picked by Mike Raymond of Houston's Reserve 101 as their 10th anniversary bottling. As the regular readers (both of them) know by now I love Maker's Mark, I love Houston, I love Reserve101 and I have very strong feelings for Mike. But for some reason this one did not quite work for me, but give it a try as it might for you. The nose is oaky with some fruity wine notes as well. Some heat from the 55.65% ABV along with classic vanilla, corn and cola notes. The taste is hot and a little sharp at first with some black cherry, dark chocolate, jalepeno, burnt caramel and oak char. The finish is pepper and even a little sour. With water it gets creamier with some brown sugar and more vanilla. It definately needs a little water (or ice or time) to open it up.
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