Maker’s Mark Releases the 2026 Edition of Its Cellar Aged Bourbon
Up until 2023, Kentucky distillery Maker’s Mark didn’t put age statements on its bourbon. That all changed with the launch of Cellar Aged, an annual release that blends together bourbon aged for much longer than the core expression’s six to seven years. The 2026 edition of this bourbon is about to drop, and it includes some of the oldest whiskey ever released by the distillery in the blend.
Of course, it’s worth repeating that age doesn’t necessarily indicate quality in whiskey (or in people, for that matter). And the six to seven years that regular Maker’s bourbon is aged for is considered to be a maturation sweet spot by many. But there are also a whole lot of people who have been asking the distillery to release some older whiskey for many years, and the Maker’s team finally made that happen.
The key, however, is that the whiskey is initially aged in the distillery’s traditional rickhouses and then moved to its limestone cellar. The temperature is much cooler there (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit), similar to what you’d find in a Scottish warehouse, which means that interaction between whiskey and wood is reduced and it can be aged for longer without becoming overly tannic or oaky. According to Maker’s Mark master distiller Dr. Blake Layfield, moving the whiskey to the cellar isn’t about stopping maturation, it’s about refining it. “I don’t want you to taste looking for old, I want you to taste looking for where maturity has been added,” he said on a recent Zoom call. “The rate of flavor extraction is reduced, but the biggest reaction is oxidation, which significantly contributes to the flavor profile.”
As mentioned, the fourth edition of Cellar Aged includes some of the most mature whiskey ever bottled by Maker’s Mark. Specifically, the blend is as follows: 49 percent 11-year-old bourbon, 33 percent 12-year-old bourbon, and 18 percent 14-year-old bourbon. It was bottled at 112.1 proof or 56.05 percent ABV. Compare that to last year’s release, which contained 74 percent 11-year-old bourbon, 10 percent 13-year-old bourbon, and 16 percent 14-year-old bourbon (the first two releases did not contain 14-year-old bourbon). We were able to sample the whiskey, and like past releases, it’s quite good with deep notes of oak, dark chocolate, cherry syrup, bitter espresso, maple, vanilla, and some ripe stone fruit on the palate, followed by lingering spice and heat on the finish as you’d expect at that higher proof.
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2026 will be available starting September 1 at select retailers around the country (SRP $175), after which it will roll out to the U.K., Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia, and global travel retail. Bottles of previous expressions are still available to purchase as well.
