BEP — short for Barrel Entry Proof — is the 2022 release in Maker's Mark's Wood Finishing Series, an annual programme of limited expressions finished with different combinations of custom-seared French and American oak staves. Each year the Maker's team tunes the stave recipe to highlight a particular facet of their wheated bourbon, and BEP was designed to explore what happens when fully mature Maker's is finished with staves chosen to echo the low barrel entry proof the distillery has used since the 1950s.
Maker's Mark enters its bourbon into the barrel at 110 proof — notably lower than most of the industry. The lower entry proof means more water in the cask and a gentler extraction over time, which is part of why Maker's drinks so softly. The BEP stave set was selected to amplify the deeper, richer flavours that the lower entry proof tends to produce, and the finished bourbon is bottled at cask strength — in this release, 109.7 proof.
The nose is maple and toasted brioche, with dark honey and a wisp of sweet cedar from the finishing staves. The palate is rich and velvety — burnt caramel, roasted pecan, molasses and warm baking spice — carrying the cask strength without heat. The finish is long and sweet-oaky, fading on vanilla and soft tannin.
The Wood Finishing Series has been one of the more intellectually interesting projects in modern Kentucky bourbon, and BEP is a strong entry. It deepens and enriches the Maker's house character without warping it, and it makes a good case that the barrel entry proof choice made seventy years ago still defines the spirit today.
