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Maker’s Mark is rolling out the fourth annual release of Cellar Aged, its extra-matured bourbon program built around the distillery’s limestone cellar in Loretto, Kentucky. The 2026 edition hits shelves nationwide September 1, with a suggested retail price of $175.<\/p>\n
Cellar Aged takes its name from the LEED-certified cellar carved into the limestone shelf beneath Star Hill Farm, where Maker’s Mark ages a portion of each blend in a cooler environment than its traditional rickhouses. The distillery says the slower maturation preserves balance in bourbons that would otherwise run the risk of over-oaking at this age.<\/p>\n
This year’s blend combines 49% 11-year-old, 33% 12-year-old and 18% 14-year-old bourbons. . It’s bottled at cask strength, 112.1 proof (56.05% ABV).<\/p>\n
“Cellar Aged represents our pursuit of flavor through patience, precision and a deep understanding of how bourbon evolves over time,” Master Distiller Dr. Blake Layfield said in a news release.<\/p>\n
Rob Samuels, Maker’s Mark managing director, tied the release back to the distillery’s founding decision to add the limestone shelf.<\/p>\n
“The limestone shelf that surrounds Star Hill Farm has shaped our bourbon from the very beginning, thanks to the innovative spirit of my grandparents, Margie and Bill Samuels Sr., who chose this land in 1953 for its exceptional water source and natural watershed,” Samuels said. “Decades later, we made what some considered an unreasonable decision to build a LEED-certified cellar into that same limestone shelf, allowing us to extend maturation while preserving the balance that defines Maker’s Mark. This year’s Cellar Aged release is a testament to how our environment continues to shape the whisky’s final profile.”<\/p>\n
The cellar holds a consistent 50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, a departure from the temperature swings of Maker’s Mark’s traditional rickhouses.<\/p>\n
“Unlike the rest of our portfolio where consistency is the goal, cellar age is about celebrating the differences that each barrel can bring,” Layfield said during a virtual tasting with media.<\/p>\n
On the cellar’s cooler aging environment, he offered a simple way to frame it: “I like to think of it as turning down the volume of the wood so you can hear what the whiskey is saying.”<\/p>\n