Maker's Mark 11 Year & 12 Year Old Cellar Aged (2023) 70cl

When the iconic bourbon producer Maker's Mark unveiled a newly built 14,000-square-foot cellar in 2016, this limestone-bounded, temperature-controlled underground lair was intended as an adjunct aging facility for two of its signature labels, Private Select and Maker's Mark 46. However, it appears the Loretto, Kentucky-based distiller has found a creative new use for its cellar — one that will particularly interest fans of traditional American spirits.

Maker's Mark announced the launch of its new Cellar Aged Bourbon in September 2023, a blend whose aging time surpasses that of any bourbon the brand has released in its 70-year history. Taste has always been the hallmark of whiskies produced by Maker's Mark, but thanks to the company's unique cellar, time has become a factor as well. Maker's Mark Cellar Aged Bourbon is a blend of whiskies that have been aged for 11 and 12 years, respectively. At least, that's the aging period for the bottles sold this year. The new product will have a different expression for each annual release, with the aging time tailored to the tasting state of the available barrels.

The first-ever Cellar Aged Bourbon, for example, is made from whisky that was aged for six years in Maker's Mark rickhouses, and roughly the same amount of time — though some barrels were aged for five, not six years — in its temperature-controlled Kentucky cellar.

The cellar itself, as the name suggests, is central to the production of Maker's Mark Cellar Aged Bourbon.

"For more than 65 years, aging our whisky for a decade-plus wasn't something we did," Rob Samuels — whose grandfather, Bill Samuels, founded Maker's Mark in 1953 — said in the press release. "It's not that we didn't believe in it; we simply hadn't found a way to do it that didn't compromise on our taste vision — until now. Cellar Aged embodies an older whisky that's distinctly Maker's Mark. One rooted in challenging convention, delivering new flavor experiences from the environment that surrounds us, and building on a taste vision that's been generations in the making."