Overview: Maker’s Mark runs one of the more interesting custom barrel programs in Kentucky. The Private Selection lets retailers, restaurants, and whiskey clubs insert ten finishing staves into a fully matured barrel of their standard wheated bourbon for an additional nine weeks — choosing from five stave types with distinct flavor contributions. The math produces a nearly infinite number of possible combinations, which means every Private Selection bottle is genuinely its own thing.

“Golden Hour” is Total Wine’s take on that program, bottled in March 2023 at 109.2 proof. I grabbed this at my local Total Wine last summer and it sat in the queue for a while before I got to it. That’s my fault. It’s a good bottle.

The wheated foundation matters here. Maker’s swaps out rye for soft winter wheat in their mashbill, which means the base spirit is inherently sweeter and softer than a high-rye bourbon. The stave selection then builds on top of that — and with “Golden Hour,” Total Wine leaned hard into the sweet end of the available options.

The Stave Profile

Ten staves, five types. Here’s what’s inside this barrel and what each contributes:

Stave Type	Count	Character
Baked American Pure	6	Deep wood sugars, vanilla, brown spice, shortbread
Seared French Cuvée	2	Toasted oak depth, caramel, roasted marshmallow
Maker’s 46	2	Dried dark fruit, stewed cherries, baking spice
Roasted French Mendiant	0	(Dark chocolate, espresso — not used)
Toasted French Spice	0	(Sharp ginger, smoke — not used)

Six of the ten staves are Baked American Pure. That’s a deliberate choice — by skipping the Roasted French Mendiant and Toasted French Spice entirely, Total Wine kept this profile away from the darker, drier end of the spectrum and pointed it squarely at dessert territory. If you’ve tried other Private Selection bottles and found them austere or tannic, this is the opposite of that. (The stave system is also similar in concept to secondary finishing — if you want the background on how that affects the age statement, the toasted bourbon article covers it.)

Age: NAS

Proof: 109.2 (54.6% ABV)

Mashbill: Maker’s Mark standard — soft red winter wheat replaces rye; exact percentages undisclosed

Nose: Dense and sweet right out of the glass — brown sugar, butter pecan, toasted marshmallow. The six Baked American staves are doing exactly what they’re supposed to: vanilla shortbread, maple syrup, a little graham cracker. What’s surprising for 109 proof is how little ethanol heat shows on the nose. The wheated base keeps it approachable even at this strength. Let it breathe a few minutes and a soft dried fruit note — something like baked pear — comes forward from the Maker’s 46 staves.

Palate: Buttery and thick on entry, coating the whole mouth. Vanilla cream, toffee, caramel-glazed apple. The sweetness is real and it’s substantial — this is not subtle. Mid-palate the Seared French Cuvée and Maker’s 46 staves bring some necessary structure: toasted oak, a little cardamom, dark cherry. That counterweight keeps the whole thing from collapsing into candy. It’s a narrow margin, but the balance holds. At 109 proof you might expect heat — there’s warmth, but nothing harsh.

Finish: Long and warming. Baking spice and cinnamon linger, then the oak takes over with a dry, clean finish that cuts through all that richness. The maple sweetness hangs around at the tail end in a way that makes you want to go back. Good length for the proof and profile.

Final Thoughts: This is a dessert pour and it knows it. The 6-2-2-0-0 configuration is about as sweet-leaning as the Private Selection program allows, and at 109.2 proof that richness is amplified considerably. It’s not a bottle I’d reach for every night — it’s almost too much for a casual Tuesday — but next to a campfire or as a deliberate after-dinner sipper, it’s exactly right. At $65 for a cask-strength, custom-finished wheated bourbon, the value holds up.

If you’re more familiar with the standard Maker’s lineup, the Private Selection is a genuine step up in complexity and customization. My take on the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series covers the retail version of this concept — comparing the two shows how much the stave selection actually matters.

If You Liked This, Try…

• Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series — The retail version of the stave-finishing concept. Less proof, more consistent availability, gives you a baseline for understanding what the Private Selection builds on top of.
• Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series — If the wheat is what drew you in, Bardstown’s 20% wheat mashbill delivers a similar soft, bakery-sweet foundation without the finishing complexity. A clean comparison.

Rating: Top Shelf — Rating system explained