Maker's Mark Stewards Release Bourbon Review

There's a version of every long-running series where the excitement quietly runs out before the series does.

For me, that moment came right after BEP. Maker's Mark's 2023 release built around barrel entry proof felt like the perfect closing note on the first Wood Finishing Series — I bought that bottle every time I found it in the wild, so long as the price stayed reasonable. Then came the Heart release, and it turned out to be too chocolate-forward for me. Other people loved it. I just wasn't one of them.

That's more or less where my interest in this series has sat for three years. So when The Stewards Release showed up — the third installment of Maker's Mark's second five-year Wood Finishing Series, and one I mostly grabbed because it happened to be on sale — I found myself writing about it before I'd actually poured a glass. Not exactly a ringing endorsement going in.

Mechanically, The Stewards Release follows the same playbook the series has used since 2019: take fully matured, cask-strength bourbon and give it a second maturation with ten virgin oak staves dropped straight into the barrel, pulling out extra wood sugar and tannin without losing the soft, red-winter-wheat character Maker's Mark builds its whole identity around. It's coming out in two batches — one around 109.6 proof, the other at 113.3 — and I ended up with the lower-proof pour.

The Bottle

Distillery: Maker's Mark Distillery

Release: Wood Finishing Series — The Stewards Release, March 2026 (3rd installment of the second five-year series)

Classification: Wheated Bourbon

Proof: 109.6 (54.8% ABV)

Age: No Age Statement (NAS)

Mash Bill: 70% Corn, 16% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 14% Malted Barley

First Impression: Baked bread, butter, and cherry.

On the Palate: Strawberries give way to cinnamon roll and toasted oak.

The Last Sip: Brown sugar and cherry pie settle into maple bacon and baking spice.

Final Thoughts

Maybe it's just the high of finding something this fruity, but it landed closer to BEP than I expected — a distant cousin sharing some of the same DNA. That's not a comparison I saw coming out of a wood-finished release, and it's got me more curious about trying the 113.3 proof batch side by side.

I still hold the same position I've held on this series for years: resist the urge to pay secondary. If you're patient, some store will eventually carry it at retail, or you'll get lucky the way I did and catch a discount. I know a verdict of "try it" looks strange next to how much I actually enjoyed the pour, but that's the honest read — I liked the fruitiness, but that profile isn't what everyone's chasing in a wheated bourbon.

If uniqueness is what you're after, track a pour down at a bar or a bottle share before you commit to a full bottle. I'm already looking forward to seeing where the 2027 release takes this.

🟡 Try at a Bar / Bottle Share