Compare
Maker's Mark vs Maker’s Mark 46
Comparing Maker's Mark and Maker’s Mark 46 is a closer contest than it looks — both are wheated bourbons, separated mainly by price (~$25 – $32 vs. ~$38 – $45).
Key Specifications
| Feature | Maker's Mark | Maker’s Mark 46 |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Wheated Bourbon | Wheated Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley | 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Proof | 90 proof (45% ABV) | 94 proof (47% ABV) +4 proof |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$25 – $32 ~$13 less | ~$38 – $45 |
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Maker's Mark
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Maker’s Mark 46
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Maker's Mark Maker’s Mark 46
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
oak 4/7 oak: Maker's Mark 4 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 7 out of 10
spice 2/4 spice: Maker's Mark 2 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 4 out of 10
heat 3/4 heat: Maker's Mark 3 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 4 out of 10
sweetness 8/8 sweetness: Maker's Mark 8 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 8 out of 10
fruit 4/4 fruit: Maker's Mark 4 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 4 out of 10
nuttiness 3/3 nuttiness: Maker's Mark 3 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 3 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Barrel influence is the main separator.
- Maker's Mark: The bottle that made wheated bourbon mainstream. Soft, sweet, and deliberately low on spice and oak, with baked bread and honey doing most of the work. Consistency is its real feature.
- Maker’s Mark 46: Finished with seared French oak staves inside the barrel, which adds the spice and wood that the standard bottling deliberately lacks. The most useful upgrade in the Maker's range.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Maker's Mark if you want a reliably sweet, low-spice wheater that is easy to find and easy to drink at a lower price point.
- Go with Maker’s Mark 46 if you want the softness of Maker's Mark with real oak and spice layered over it.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks, cocktails, highball (Maker's Mark); neat, rocks, old-fashioned (Maker’s Mark 46).