New Maker’s Mark: Kentucky distillery adding its first older bourbon to bottle lineup

Maker’s Mark, one of Kentucky’s best-selling premium bourbons, is finally answering whiskey lovers’ calls for an older product.

The popular distillery is introducing a new permanent addition to its bourbon lineup called Cellar Aged and the inaugural version is a blend of 87% barrels aged 12 years and 13% barrels aged 11 years.

For 70 years, Maker’s Mark has been selling its wheated bourbon aged at around six years, creating a creamy soft flavor and mouthfeel that has been sought-after among bourbon fans worldwide.

“Consumers have been begging for an older Maker’s Mark for years,” said Beth Buckner, senior manager of innovation and blending for the brand. “And we’ve always said no.”

Until now.

Where to find Cellar Aged Maker’s Mark, price, proof

The distillery plans to release a limited amount of Cellar Aged annually in September. Only about 30,000 bottles will be available to buy this year worldwide. This is expected to grow in coming years, Buckner said.

Cellar Aged also has higher proof: The 2023 version is 115.7, well above Maker’s traditional 90 proof. It will hit store shelves in September with a suggested retail price of about $150, according to the company.

Cellar Aged will also be available to buy at the distillery gift shop on Sept. 15 in limited amounts and released at select retailers globally.

Maker’s Mark bourbons

This will become the first Maker’s Mark addition to the full-time bourbon lineup since Maker’s 46 was launched in 2010.

Maker’s 46 bourbon is aged an additional few weeks with staves inserted for extra flavor. In recent years, the brand added a 101 proof and cask strength versions.

The brand also allows customers to create customized Private Select versions aged a few weeks with extra stages to bring out unique flavors.

But no Maker’s Mark has ever been released that’s substantially older than the original version until Cellar Aged.

Change in aging made old Maker’s Mark possible

Because of the way Maker’s Mark is aged, “after about 7 and a half to 8 years in our traditional warehouses, the tannins start overtaking everything else,” she said. “So it goes woody, it goes back palate, it goes bitter. Which is the number one thing that we can’t do, it goes against the founders’ taste vision of ‘Never bitter.’”

The company knew that it would sell: “We could put out a 12-year-old Maker’s Mark tomorrow and people would buy it and love every bit of it but it’s not true to the flavor, so we don’t.”

All that changed in December 2016. That’s when the distillery built a unique limestone “cellar” warehouse carved into the side of a hill, where barrels are stored at about 50 degrees constantly.

“We said, ‘What if we could change the way the bourbon matures?’” she said. “What if we could figure out a way to slow that extraction of the tannins down, but allow the whiskey to continue to age and oxidize and create these deeper and richer and more complex flavors? And it worked.”

What does the Cellar Aged bourbon taste like?

A group of bourbon writers got a tour and tasting of the new offering last week ahead of the launch.

After tasting Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, aged about six years, for reference, we compared a sample of 12-year old Maker’s Mark aged in a traditional warehouse, where temperature can vary by 20 degrees or more from the sixth floor to the bottom floor, to a sample of Cellar Aged.

The Cellar Aged barrels were mature Maker’s Mark that had been brought into the cooler warehouse for several years.

The differences were marked: The traditionally aged whiskey was much more oaky and tannic than the Cellar Aged version, which had a rich, flavorful palate but with more muted tannin notes that don’t overshadow the darker fruit notes and a richer mouthfeel.

“Our target is to make something that’s deep, dark, rich and complex,” said Blake Layfield, senior director and head of innovation, blending and quality for Maker’s Mark. “How we accomplish that will vary from year to year. ... We’ll be playing with the blend percentages and the ages that you’ll see if future releases.”

Innovation is important but must hew to the brand’s consistent taste vision.

“We’re always trying to delight consumers and drive relevance and interest in the brand,” Layfield said. “The purpose of Cellar Aged isn’t to sell a bunch of volume or make a bunch of cash, although the cash is nice ... the purpose is for you to understand the authenticity, the credentials, the quality that goes into Maker’s Mark classic.”