Maker’s Mark Bourbon Debuts New Cellar Aged Bourbon

Posted on by Scott Dilley

What if age isn’t just about time, but instead about how you use that time to evolve, develop and mature?

Maker’s Mark has announced a long-anticipated addition to its red wax-dipped lineup of Kentucky Bourbon. This is a annual, limited edition release that will feature bourbon that has been aged for more than a decade in Loretto, Kentucky. The initial, 2023 release will feature bourbon whisky that is 11 and 12 years old and partially aged in Maker’s Mark® proprietary whisky cellar.

Fast Facts About Maker’s Mark® Cellar Aged Bourbon:

  • Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
  • Mashbill: Wheated Bourbon
  • Age: 11- & 12- Year Old (13% and 87% of the blend, respectively)
  • Proof: 115.7 (57.85% ABV)
  • Price: $150
  • Tasting Notes:
    • Nose: Dark stone fruit, caramelized sugar, toasted oak
    • Palate: Balanced with big oak, dark vanilla and fruit
    • Finish: Velvety texture, long and complex with caramelized barrel notes and baking spices
  • Availability: United States in September 2023; in London, Munich and select Global Travel Retail accounts in October 2023; and in Tokyo and Singapore in early 2024. 

Press Release from Maker’s Mark®:

Maker's Mark Cellar Aged Bourbon on a barrel in Loretto Kentucky at the distillery
Photo Credit: Maker’s Mark®

Maker’s Mark® is proud to debut Maker’s Mark® Cellar Aged Bourbon, an annual, global limited-release expression that proves whisky aging is about more than just a number. Featuring a marriage of 11- and 12-year-old bourbon, Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged delivers the distillery’s highly anticipated oldest release, stemming from the question: What if age isn’t just about time, but instead about how you use that time to evolve, develop and mature?

Since its founding in 1953, Maker’s Mark has aged its whisky to taste – not time – to achieve the vision set by its founders: bourbon without the bite that’s always smooth, soft and creamy. Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged stays true to this philosophy, delivering a richer, deeper and more complex older bourbon, free from the harsher tannic effects commonly found in extra-aged American whiskies, as a result of our innovative maturation process that starts in traditional Kentucky warehouses and finishes in the distillery’s one-of-a-kind limestone whisky cellar. 

For more than 65 years, aging our whisky for a decade-plus wasn’t something we did. It’s not that we didn’t believe in it; we simply hadn’t found a way to do it that didn’t compromise on our taste vision – until now. Cellar Aged embodies an older whisky that’s distinctly Maker’s Mark. One rooted in challenging convention, delivering new flavor experiences from the environment that surrounds us, and building on a taste vision that’s been generations in the making.

Rob Samuels, 8th generation whisky maker and grandson of the founders at Maker’s Mark. 

To become Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged, barrels of the distillery’s classic distillate first spend approximately six years aging in traditional bourbon warehouses, where they endure the Kentucky climate and its temperature swings season after season until they reach full maturity and can be called “Maker’s Mark.” Barrels are then moved into the distillery’s proprietary whisky cellar for an additional five to six years of aging before being blended to taste and bottled. Built into the natural limestone shelf of the Kentucky hills, the cellar’s consistently cool environment slows down the tannic impact that occurs during maturation, while allowing the bourbon to develop a deeper, darker flavor with hidden depths, but no bitterness.

This innovative and taste-led approach in pursuit of an older Maker’s Mark expression continues the boundary-pushing mindset that has shaped the brand since the beginning. Founders Bill and Margie Samuels challenged category norms when they burned their 170-year-old family recipe, choosing to use red winter wheat instead of rye in their mashbill for a softer, smoother bourbon. This spirit of asking “what if?” was present in the introduction of Maker’s Mark 46, which is crafted using a proprietary wood-stave finishing technique, and in Maker’s Mark Private Selection, which became the industry’s first custom barrel program upon its launch in 2016.

Cellar Aged will be an annual, limited release available in specific markets around the world. The unique maturation approach of Cellar Aged will be consistent every year, but the specific blend of aged bourbon will vary based on which barrels are ready, by taste. The inaugural release of Cellar Aged is a marriage of 12-year-old and 11-year-old whisky – 87% and 13%, respectively – bottled at cask strength (115.7 proof). Cellar Aged will be available for a suggested retail price of USD $150.00 in the United States in September 2023; in London, Munich and select Global Travel Retail accounts in October 2023; and in Tokyo and Singapore in early 2024. 

For more information about Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged, please visit www.MakersMark.com.

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