Cask Strength

I don't ask for, nor expect gifts on Father's Day.  My children do enough during the year to help the old man, and I don't expect gifts for made-up holidays.  Yet this year, stepson showed up at the house on Sunday morning with an intriguing bag, it looked almost like a whiskey bottle, but smaller.  Yet, it had a familiar profile.

Maker's Mark, cask strength.  The bottle shape is familiar to every bourbon drinker, but this stuff is supposedly bottled straight from the cask.  It's marked at 113 proof, so it should show some kick.  Two reviews that I've seen say nice things about it, although I admit I haven't opened the bottle yet. It comes in a 375 ml bottle.

As bourbon drinkers we're all familiar with Maker's Mark, a very satisfying bourbon, a step above the lower shelf bourbons we normally drink.  By that I mean the sour-mash whiskeys such as Jim Beam, or Evan Williams (or, dare I say it, Jack Daniels).  Not that there is anything wrong with those whiskeys, Indeed, they each have a space on the whiskey shelf in my house.  Good, everyday whiskey is something to be enjoyed.  I normally have a snort of one or the other most evenings.

But, really good whiskey deserves better, and I suspect that this is good whiskey.  It won't be mixed with cola, indeed, it may not be mixed with anything more than a splash of good branch water.  In my mind, good whiskey should be savored for what it is.  Good whiskey deserves blue jeans, flannel shirts, and a gently crackling fire.  A nice highball glass, and good company.

I think I'll save this bottle for the autumn.  Thanks, JimBob.  Don't get your feelings hurt if the old man saves this one for a while.  I think it will be worth the wait.