Maker's Mark Cask Strength Returns with an Age Statement

Maker’s Mark Distillery has announced that its core-range Cask Strength bourbon will now be age-stated for the first time—with each batch including its age, down to the year and month. The bourbon will stay the same: featuring the signature wheated mashbill (70% corn, 16% soft red winter wheat, and 14% malted barley) aged for 7–8 years and bottled between 107 and 114 proof. Fans will also be happy to hear that Cask Strength’s $50 price point is also holding steady.

According to master distiller Blake Layfield, the decision was made to deliver “the transparency and batch-specific details bourbon lovers are looking for.” The distillery routinely uses well-aged liquid, with its flagship bottling hovering around 7–8 years old, but age is seldom the main focus for its various releases. Instead, Maker’s tends to champion other production factors such as low entry proof, stave finishing, and/or bottling strength. The distillery’s oldest whiskeys can be found in its Cellar Aged series, showcasing 11-plus year old liquid that was partly aged in a limestone bunker that the distillery blasted into a hill back in 2016. The latest release in that series—which blended 11, 13, and 14 year old bourbons—scored 95 points with our tasting panel and was named our No. 3 Whisky of 2025.

With this change, Maker’s Mark joins a growing list of whiskey producers that are pivoting toward new age statements. Other prominent examples include Jim Beam Black, which was reworked into a 7 year old; Eagle Rare 12, which was meant to be an older sibling to the brand’s iconic 10 year old; and Old Fitzgerald 7 year old, which is positioned as a more affordable counterpart to the line’s upscale decanter releases.

Most of those products emerged as solutions to oversupply, with distillers funneling some of their older barrels into new products to move inventory. For Maker’s Cask Strength, which isn’t getting a new recipe, the new label will provide a bit more context on the differences between each batch, making it all the more interesting to buy multiple batches and taste them comparatively. Previous Cask Strength batches have scored well with our review panel, earning 93 and 92 points.