The Bourbon That Belongs With Your Next Steak Dinner

If you're looking for a bourbon that goes well with a wide variety of steaks, it's hard to go wrong with a glass of Maker's Mark. It's one of the best bourbons to pair with steak, and one of its most standout qualities makes it a versatile partner for however you like your beef.

The handcrafted bourbon has been around for more than 70 years, and has built its name on a recipe known for its easy-drinking experience. It's a wheated bourbon, which means it's made with wheat instead of rye, delivering a softer, smoother flavor profile than other, spicier styles. That mellowness won't compete with your steak, instead allowing its flavors to enhance what's on the meat. The vanilla and caramel notes you typically get from a bourbon like Maker's Mark uplift the flavor compounds that are released by the Maillard reaction on a perfectly seared steak, and this mix of sweet, salty, creamy, and umami is ultimately what elevates your dining experience.

Maker's Mark is also fairly accessible. It's one of the smoothest bourbons you can buy at Costco, so you shouldn't have any trouble sourcing it. While pairing your steak with a hard-to-find allocated whiskey may seem like a great idea at first, steak and bourbon just feel more like a laid-back meal. The pairing should be as easy as Maker's Mark is to drink, so why mess with a good thing?

Not all steak cuts are created equal, however, and Maker's Mark enhances one better than all the rest. If you were going to pair the bourbon with just one cut for the rest of your life, make it a filet mignon, widely considered to be its hands-down best steak pairing. It also just so happens to be the best cut of steak, period, according to over 600 Mashed readers; 28% picked it over other popular choices like ribeye, T-bone, and New York strip.

Food-and-drink pairings work best when the flavors of each are at similar intensity levels, ensuring neither overpowers the other. This is what makes Maker's Mark and filet mignon such an ideal pairing. On top of being a wheated bourbon, Maker's Mark is also a low-proof one at just 90 proof (45% ABV), meaning the alcohol has less of a bite to interfere with its relatively soft flavor profile. Filet mignon has a more delicate beefiness than other cuts, so the milder bourbon plays nicely with it. And it's a very lean steak, so the fat in the meat won't mask the bourbon's flavors.

If you haven't tried pairing Maker's Mark with a filet mignon yet, try to go with a simpler dish so you can fully experience how well they mesh together. This recipe for seared filet mignon and mushrooms is a good start — the seasoning is kept minimal, and the mushrooms add umami without throwing off the balance of intensities between the meat and the bourbon.