When Maker’s Mark debuted Cellar Aged in 2023, it was the first time in the distillery’s history that whiskey older than 8 years made its way onto the shelf. We were big fans of that first ultra-aged expression—that whiskey scored 94 points with our tasting panel and took the sixth spot on our Top 20 list last year. Now, the distillery has released the second iteration of Cellar Aged, this one even older than its predecessor.
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2024 blends 15% 12 year old bourbon with 85% 13 year old bourbon, and it’s bottled at a bold 59.7% ABV, among the highest ABVs Maker’s has ever offered. As with the first edition, the new whiskey spent the second half of its maturation time in the distillery’s limestone cellar, a hillside bunker whose temperature hovers at around 50 degrees or cooler year-round, thus subjecting the barrels to far fewer temperature variations than traditional Kentucky rickhouses. Maker’s currently has the one limestone cellar, which has a capacity of 2,000 barrels.
In addition to its age, the 59.7% ABV on this one is also greater than last year’s level of 57.85%. Unfortunately, so is the price, at $175 compared to $150 for the 2024 release. The new whiskey will be available in limited quantities across the U.S., as well as in the UK, Germany, and select global Travel Retail accounts in the coming weeks. Maker’s fans in Korea, Japan, and Singapore, meanwhile, can expect to see it on shelves early next year. Cellar Aged is an annual release, and innovation manager Beth Buckner expects that the oldest barrels incorporated into the blend will be around 14 years old, though she notes that they haven’t discovered the cellar’s peak maturation time just yet.
