Makers Mark Mint Julep

[Curtisc84]

I found a store with a stash of this dated 08. I grabbed a bottle but haven't opened it yet. Anyone have a good experience with this?

[Enoch]

We have a Derby Party each year and have used it. But in taste test with friends, they tent to prefer the Early Times version which is cheaper. Both ET and MM have said the shelf life is 1-2 years because it is 33%, but we have used older bottles with no problems except the mint gets a little muted.

[White Dog]

I think you're better off getting regular MM and making yourself a mint julep.

[Curtisc84]

We have a Derby Party each year and have used it. But in taste test with friends, they tent to prefer the Early Times version which is cheaper. Both ET and MM have said the shelf life is 1-2 years because it is 33%, but we have used older bottles with no problems except the mint gets a little muted.

I never considered an expiration date.

I think you're better off getting regular MM and making yourself a mint julep.

I think we're always better off making cocktails from fresh ingredients, but I really do like the Hi-West Manhattan. I really just wanted the green waxed bottle on my shelf. =)

[Rockefeller]

I think we're always better off making cocktails from fresh ingredients, but I really do like the Hi-West Manhattan. I really just wanted the green waxed bottle on my shelf. =)

The High West Manhattan is a COMPLETELY different animal because it is a barrel-aged cocktail vs a purposely pre-made mix like the MM Mint Julep. In addition, the ingredients in a Manhattan don't need to be as "fresh" like a mint julep.

Never having had the MM version, I would imagine the difference is like store-bought orange juice vs freshly squeezed.

[Curtisc84]

The High West Manhattan is a COMPLETELY different animal because it is a barrel-aged cocktail vs a purposely pre-made mix like the MM Mint Julep. In addition, the ingredients in a Manhattan don't need to be as "fresh" like a mint julep.

Yes, I've recently been seeing more barrel-aged cocktails. I tried a few at the Craft Spirits Festival in October. Pretty tasty as well.

[squire]

Curtis we tried it when it first came out (yes, it's a neat bottle) and I bought a few more as gifts but it's easy to make a better one.

[camduncan]

One of our independant retailers just bought this into Australia (first time ever on our shores as far as I know) for $80 a bottle. I don't usually talk up my cocktail skills, but I KNOW I'd probably make a better Julep, however the bottle appealed to my collector nature. Not sure I'm prepared to drop $80 for it though

[Enoch]

We have a Derby Party each year and have used it. But in taste test with friends, they tent to prefer the Early Times version which is cheaper. Both ET and MM have said the shelf life is 1-2 years because it is 33%, but we have used older bottles with no problems except the mint gets a little muted.

Clarification: Most people seem to prefer the ETMJ in blind test. When I put the bottles out, they always seem to prefer the MMMJ. I bought several cases of ETMJ several years ago (only released once a year) and still use it and no one has gotten sick. I can only tell a difference when tasting it side by side with new stuff. The distillers may have told me about the shelf life mainly to get me to go out and buy new stuff. Now that everyone has seen the MM bottles, they complain if I pull out ETMJ, so I just pour the ET in the MM bottles and they all applaud me for buying the good stuff. Funny how the brand makes such a difference.

On another note, I tried for years to make a "good" mint julep and they were generally not well received. I even grow several varieties (pep, spear, choc) of mint to use. When I went to the Derby several years ago I decided to get an "official" mint julep and really enjoyed it. When I asked the bar tender how she made them, she pulled out a bottle of ETMJ, so I just started buying it. I have about 10 different years of ETMJ (commemorative bottles???) and thought one day I would try them all and see how they are different with age.

FYI: Around here the ETMJ cost about $13 and the MMMJ costs about $35 which is why I serve the ET to about 50 people at the Derby Party.

Edited December 8, 2012 by Enoch

[Kalessin]

Ahh, marketing...

[Borchard]

I just tried the MMMJ last night at a friend's house. I had never even heard of it. Apparently you can't get it in Oklahoma, and he had picked it up in Kentucky (BIG shock!). I have to say, it wasn't half bad. I was almost expecting a cloyingly sweet drink, like Crown Royal Maple. But it was rather pleasant.