Maker is a design game about relationships between major whisky choices. Set a distillery identity, then use a limited budget to choose malt, cask programme, age, bottling strength, bottle and label before reviewing the finished bottle.
A reproducible cask comparison
On 2026-09-08, the calculation used unpeated malt, twelve years, 46%, single-cask mode, a classic bottle and official sales. Only the cask changed; createdAt was fixed at 1755000000000. These are fictional game-quality scores, not real-product tasting scores.
Refill bourbon: 67, cereal and grass; first-fill bourbon: 74, vanilla malt; first-fill Oloroso: 84, fruity wine. Repeating identical inputs returned identical outputs. Cask changes affect both base values and flavour paths, so the difference cannot establish real-world cask superiority.
Normal play can use a different batch seed and return different results. Record malt, age and strength and change one choice at a time. Compare directions across several results without treating game values as aroma measurements or recommendation accuracy.
Build around an intended style
Choose the flavour direction before spending the budget. Malt sets a broad spirit direction; cask family, fill history and maturation add fruit, vanilla, spice, wine and oak. A finish adds a limited second accent, while double cask divides contribution between two cask families.
Read age and strength together
Longer maturation can add oak and complexity but can also increase tannin or cover fresh spirit character. Forty-six per cent is the game balance reference, while higher strengths raise intensity and variability. Cask strength is a range shaped by maturation rather than one fixed ABV.
Finish the presentation
Bottle and label choices present the result rather than turning a weak recipe into a great whisky. The label shows distillery, region, age, cask and strength; only representative positive notes fit on the label, while the detailed result includes positive and negative notes.
Interpret the result
Quality, market assessment and generated review are game outputs based on the selected recipe and random variation. They are not Whiskybase quotations, professional appraisal or a prediction of a real product. Use the related guides to understand each term.