Short Documentary: The LEE Initiative’s Spirit of CommUNITY
Maker’s Mark Private Select CommUNITY Batch bourbon is a brilliant blend of 37 single barrel picks from restaurants across the country. The way Private Select works is singular among single barrel programs in the bourbon industry because the selector has control over the final product that is bottled through their unique stave selection and cold aging process. Essentially, a full barrel of cask strength classic Maker’s Mark is the foundation and participants in the process select a combination of 10 staves from a selection of 5 different flavor profiles to add to the barrel which will then age for 5 additional weeks in a cave they built onsite to allow the liquid to absorb the flavor slowly in a cold, controlled climate. There are over a thousand distinct ways to arrange the staves to produce a unique final product and the CommUNITY Batch was the largest joint effort to date.
Why so many cooks in the kitchen for this batch? Well, this one was a fundraiser. A big one. Maker’s Mark was the very first partner to sign on to support The LEE Initiative upon its founding in 2018. Back then, their main program was the Women Culinary & Spirits Program which sought to mentor and elevate female chefs and bartenders to more leadership positions in the industry.
When the pandemic closed restaurants across the country in 2020, The LEE Initiative pivoted to relief. Within 24 hours, their first free meals for furloughed service workers were being handed out across the street from co-founder Edward Lee’s restaurant, 610 Magnolia. By the end of the month, they were operating 19 relief kitchens across the country.
This CommUNITY Batch release was created in partnership with some of those relief kitchen locations and in an unprecedented move, Maker’s Mark donated 100% of the liquid and the proceeds it would eventually yield to The LEE Initiative. To date, the bottles have raised over half a million dollars to support their ongoing efforts to support the service community and beyond.
Applications for this year’s mentee program are now live here.
But, this is a bourbon review. So, let’s crack the wax and get to it.
Nose:
Your nose is met with a warming delectable brown sugar, vanilla, notes of maple syrup, and a subtle floral green apple, reminiscent of a fresh-baked apple pie.
Palate:
On the first sip your mouth is caught off guard with an oak forward and leather nudge, this is slowly massaged away with a robust oily brown sugar note. Slowly, notes of cocoa, vanilla, and sweet coffee mocha flavors touch the palate.
Finish:
The oil clings in your mouth leaving a sweet caramel candy apple heat, making your mouth water. It is then followed with baking spice notes I can only describe as cloves and almonds. The taste because of the higher proof and oiliness, just lingers in the very best kind of way.
Closing Thoughts:
I love the sweetness and flavor profile of wheated bourbons and I think this bottle hits on a lot of those notes. Most notably, the green apple nose and flavor. At $75, the uniqueness of cocoa and green apple commingling in a pronounced way in a high proof bourbon easily justifies the cost in and of itself. But when you consider the whole story, I think this is a must buy if you’re lucky enough to still find a bottle.
