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Maker's Mark vs New Riff Bottled-in-Bond
Maker's Mark and New Riff Bottled-in-Bond sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, wheat-forward classic versus a new-wave, rye-forward craft style.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Maker's Mark | New Riff Bottled-in-Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Wheated Bourbon | High-Rye Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley | 65% corn, 30% rye, 5% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | 4 years |
| Proof | 90 proof (45% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) +10 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.
New Riff Bottled-in-Bond
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Maker's Mark New Riff Bottled-in-Bond
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
spice 2/9 spice: Maker's Mark 2 out of 10, New Riff Bottled-in-Bond 9 out of 10
sweetness 8/4 sweetness: Maker's Mark 8 out of 10, New Riff Bottled-in-Bond 4 out of 10
heat 3/6 heat: Maker's Mark 3 out of 10, New Riff Bottled-in-Bond 6 out of 10
oak 4/5 oak: Maker's Mark 4 out of 10, New Riff Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
fruit 4/5 fruit: Maker's Mark 4 out of 10, New Riff Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
nuttiness 3/3 nuttiness: Maker's Mark 3 out of 10, New Riff Bottled-in-Bond 3 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Rye spice is the dividing line here.
- 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.
- New Riff Bottled-in-Bond: At 30% rye this is about as spice-forward as bourbon gets before becoming rye whiskey. Peppery and herbal with mint and dill, non-chill-filtered for texture, and noticeably dry rather than sweet.
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 New Riff Bottled-in-Bond if you want aggressive rye spice and a dry, herbal profile from a modern craft distillery with more proof behind it.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks, cocktails, highball (Maker's Mark); neat, old-fashioned, cocktails (New Riff Bottled-in-Bond).