Maker's Mark 11 Year, 12 Year & 14 Year Old Cellar Aged 2026 Edition Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (2026) 70cl
Maker's Mark®, the iconic handmade Kentucky bourbon, today announced the 2026 release of Maker's Mark Cellar Aged. Now in its fourth year, the annual release showcases one of the distillery's most mature blends to date, combining 11-, 12- and 14-year-old Maker's Mark bourbons. Aged to taste, not time, this year’s release builds on the hallmark character of Cellar Aged, revealing new layers of depth, complexity and flavor through extended maturation.
"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," said Rob Samuels, Maker’s Mark managing director and eighth-generation whisky maker.
"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."
Meticulously blended and bottled at cask strength (112.1 proof / 56.05% ABV), Cellar Aged 2026 brings together 49% 11-year-old, 33% 12-year-old and 18% 14-year-old bourbons to deliver a bourbon with remarkable richness.
"Cellar Aged represents our pursuit of flavor through patience, precision and a deep understanding of how bourbon evolves over time," said Dr. Blake Layfield, master distiller for Maker's Mark. "After aging in our traditional warehouses, the bourbon spends additional time in our limestone cellar, where cooler maturation allows the fruit to shine while keeping the oak in balance.”
The whisky is unmistakably Maker's Mark—rich and layered, opening with aromas of dark cherry, clove, vanilla bean and soft orchard fruit. On the palate, notes of honey, brown sugar and ripe plum give way to a warming, silky finish accented by almond, nutmeg and crisp green apple.
About Maker's Mark
Taylor William "Bill" Samuels Snr started out in the whiskey industry at his family's T.W. Samuels distillery in the 1930s. When his father, Lesley Samuels, died in 1936, Bill inherited the running of the place, which he did so until 1942 when he sold it and its brands to Country Distillers Products. Bill has initially intended to retire to his farm, but the allure of creating a new bourbon proved too much, and he set about canvassing help in producing the recipe for the smoothers tasting whiskey that he has campaigned for and failed to get the family to distil over a decade prior. Among those who he reached out to were Hap Motlow of Jack Daniel's, Ed Shapira of Heaven Hill, and the legendary Julian 'Pappy' Van Winkle I. Pappy's wheated Old Weller and Old Fitzgerald bourbon were exactly the profile that Samuels was after, and with Van Winkle's help, he debuted finessed his own wheat mashbill, and bought land in Loretto, Kentucky in 1953. He filled his first barrels the following year, and in the years that preceded his first bottlings, Bill's wife Margie created the Maker's Mark brand based on her collections of fine English pewter stamps. The first bottle of Maker's Mark was bottled on 8th May 1958, and was hand-dipped with red wax, as all bottles still are to this day.
56.05% ABV
70cl
