Table Of Contents

The Details

Rating 94
Style
American Whiskey
Whiskey
Produced In Kentucky
United States
ABV 56.45%
Availability Limited
Price $175.00 
Reviewed By
Reviewed 2025-09-30

Maker's Mark Cellar Aged (2025) Review

In 2023, Maker’s Mark created quite a stir in the bourbon world by releasing its first-ever age-stated whiskey: Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged. Of course, that almost seems like old news at this point. Indeed, the brand’s “normal” (and almost always reliable) Cask Strength releases now contain age statements on the label. But three years in, Cellar Aged remains the distillery’s most premium release, a blend of whiskey aged well beyond the brand’s typical four-to-eight year range.

That’s accomplished via a change of environment, whereby barrels of mature Maker’s Mark bourbon are transferred to the brand’s large “cellar,” carved deep into a limestone hill adjoining the distillery. The cellar began operating in December 2016, and it maintains a fairly consistent, cooler climate than a typical warehouse. While originally built to age Maker’s Mark 46, the cellar is now an integral part of the Cellar Aged program. Barrels spend additional years aging there while the impact of heat and temperature swings are dialed way back.

This third and latest cellar aged release comes from a blend of the following component bourbons:

  • 74 percent 11-year-old bourbon
  • 10 percent 13-year-old bourbon
  • 16 percent 14-year-old bourbon

That 14-year-old bourbon is the oldest-ever officially acknowledged component in a Maker’s Mark product. For comparison, last year’s blend consisted of 15 percent 12-year-old bourbon and 85 percent 13-year-old bourbon.

Like all Maker’s Mark bourbon, Cellar Aged is made from a mash bill of 70 percent corn, 16 percent soft red winter wheat, and 14 percent malted barley. This year’s release is bottled at 56.45 percent ABV, a bit lower than 2024’s 59.65 percent.

Let’s see how the newest Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged tastes!

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025: Stats and Availability

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged maintains its $175 MSRP from last year. (The suggested retail price was $150 in 2023.) The brand won’t confirm an exact bottle count on the record, but back in 2023, representatives suggested there were between 20,000 and 30,000 bottles released globally.

The premium bourbon market has experienced a softening recently, at least insofar as retail markups. While I still expect to see bottles of Cellar Aged go for $200 or above in certain markets, the bottle may actually be a bit more accessible than it was back in 2023. It’s now out to the public in the United States, Germany, and some travel retail. Bottles will be distributed to the U.K., Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore between now and early 2026.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

With three batches of Cellar Aged released, we can finally start spotting trends! On the nose, this 2025 version instantly reminds me of 2024: baked orchard fruit leads and gets more intensely spiced with time, transitioning from caramel-drizzled apple pie into dark, heavily reduced apple butter. That baking spice builds and never relents — it’s one of the punchiest Maker’s Mark releases I’ve sampled recently — while just barely retaining the underlying fruit. Burnt citrus takes a few minutes to develop (a drop of water helps), adding some welcome tartness.

There’s also an early and semi-intense burst of Luxardo cherry. That specific fruit component eventually gives way to oak, and there’s lots of it here; while 11-year bourbon makes up the bulk of liquid in the bottle, that older juice is certainly present and accounted for. At its core, nosing the 2025 release isn’t a fundamentally different experience than its immediate predecessor. But the interplay between dark cherry and toasted, tannic oak influence feels more pronounced.

Speaking of comparison, this latest release also boasts more cocoa and coffee on the nose. There’s a little mocha, some almond extract, and a lot of milk caramel. I (briefly) worried this batch might even lean too tannic, which might sound near-catastrophic for fans of Maker’s Mark’s decidedly approachable, sweet profile. But those last hits of chocolate and caramel pull things back before they reach the brink. Combined with lingering cherry and apple, it’s a nose that came to wrestle. Ultimately, I’m glad I stuck around for the bout.

Taste

A first sip is surprisingly tempered, though not exactly tame. Here, apple and cherry hit simultaneously, like a mixed fruit pie or cobbler with a cinnamon and sugar-spiced crust. The second sip gets both creamier and more tart; that combination of raspberries and sweet cream is reminiscent of 2024’s release. There are even small hits of ripe mulberries and blackcurrant jam, making this the most berry-forward of the Cellar Aged series (at least to my palate). Honey layers in, and by a few sips in, we’ve got a melange akin to a sweetened, berry-infused herbal tea.

The bourbon maintains much of that berry character up to and even past the midpalate. Oak is less punchy than on the nose, which isn’t too out of the ordinary for a blend containing a smaller percentage of older whiskey. There are signs of age, though, with tannins and astringency closer to steeped tea than leather and tobacco. Marzipan also accumulates across the palate, along with strawberries and cream carried by a mouthfeel that’s perhaps a shade thinner than the prior batches.

Finish

Dried raspberries take the spotlight here. There’s also a composed dose of bittersweet chocolate, which was a nice complement coming off a near-confectionary backpalate. It’s a fitting end to the narrative we’ve come to expect from Cellar Aged releases, an impressive joining of wood with red fruit — with heaping helpings of other flavors in fits and spurts.

Maker’s Mark Cellar 2025 Aged Rating

94/100

Recap

This latest Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is a worthy addition to the line. In a lineup, my slight preference may be the 2024 version, but that’s truly splitting hairs. It’s the brand’s most expensive and most premium bottling for a reason: this is adroitly aged bourbon, showcasing the potential of Maker’s wheated mash bill and leaving few flavor quadrants unexplored.

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94
POINTS
Maker's Mark Cellar Aged (2025)
In 2023, Maker’s Mark created quite a stir in the bourbon world by releasing its first-ever age-stated whiskey: Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged. Of course, that almost seems like old news at this point. Indeed, the brand’s “normal” (and almost always reliable) Cask Strength releases now contain age statements on the label. But three years in, Cellar Aged remains the distillery’s most premium release, a blend of whiskey aged well beyond the brand’s typical four-to-eight year range. That’s accomplished via a change of environment, whereby barrels of mature Maker’s Mark bourbon are transferred to the brand’s large “cellar,” carved deep into a limestone hill adjoining the distillery. The cellar began operating in December 2016, and it maintains a fairly consistent, cooler climate than a typical warehouse. While originally built to age Maker’s Mark 46, the cellar is now an integral part of the Cellar Aged program. Barrels spend additional years aging there while the impact of heat and temperature swings are dialed way back. This third and latest cellar aged release comes from a blend of the following component bourbons:
  • 74 percent 11-year-old bourbon
  • 10 percent 13-year-old bourbon
  • 16 percent 14-year-old bourbon
That 14-year-old bourbon is the oldest-ever officially acknowledged component in a Maker’s Mark product. For comparison, last year’s blend consisted of 15 percent 12-year-old bourbon and 85 percent 13-year-old bourbon. Like all Maker’s Mark bourbon, Cellar Aged is made from a mash bill of 70 percent corn, 16 percent soft red winter wheat, and 14 percent malted barley. This year’s release is bottled at 56.45 percent ABV, a bit lower than 2024’s 59.65 percent. Let’s see how the newest Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged tastes!

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025: Stats and Availability

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged maintains its $175 MSRP from last year. (The suggested retail price was $150 in 2023.) The brand won’t confirm an exact bottle count on the record, but back in 2023, representatives suggested there were between 20,000 and 30,000 bottles released globally. The premium bourbon market has experienced a softening recently, at least insofar as retail markups. While I still expect to see bottles of Cellar Aged go for $200 or above in certain markets, the bottle may actually be a bit more accessible than it was back in 2023. It’s now out to the public in the United States, Germany, and some travel retail. Bottles will be distributed to the U.K., Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore between now and early 2026.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

With three batches of Cellar Aged released, we can finally start spotting trends! On the nose, this 2025 version instantly reminds me of 2024: baked orchard fruit leads and gets more intensely spiced with time, transitioning from caramel-drizzled apple pie into dark, heavily reduced apple butter. That baking spice builds and never relents — it’s one of the punchiest Maker’s Mark releases I’ve sampled recently — while just barely retaining the underlying fruit. Burnt citrus takes a few minutes to develop (a drop of water helps), adding some welcome tartness. There’s also an early and semi-intense burst of Luxardo cherry. That specific fruit component eventually gives way to oak, and there’s lots of it here; while 11-year bourbon makes up the bulk of liquid in the bottle, that older juice is certainly present and accounted for. At its core, nosing the 2025 release isn’t a fundamentally different experience than its immediate predecessor. But the interplay between dark cherry and toasted, tannic oak influence feels more pronounced. Speaking of comparison, this latest release also boasts more cocoa and coffee on the nose. There’s a little mocha, some almond extract, and a lot of milk caramel. I (briefly) worried this batch might even lean too tannic, which might sound near-catastrophic for fans of Maker’s Mark’s decidedly approachable, sweet profile. But those last hits of chocolate and caramel pull things back before they reach the brink. Combined with lingering cherry and apple, it’s a nose that came to wrestle. Ultimately, I’m glad I stuck around for the bout.

Taste

A first sip is surprisingly tempered, though not exactly tame. Here, apple and cherry hit simultaneously, like a mixed fruit pie or cobbler with a cinnamon and sugar-spiced crust. The second sip gets both creamier and more tart; that combination of raspberries and sweet cream is reminiscent of 2024’s release. There are even small hits of ripe mulberries and blackcurrant jam, making this the most berry-forward of the Cellar Aged series (at least to my palate). Honey layers in, and by a few sips in, we’ve got a melange akin to a sweetened, berry-infused herbal tea. The bourbon maintains much of that berry character up to and even past the midpalate. Oak is less punchy than on the nose, which isn’t too out of the ordinary for a blend containing a smaller percentage of older whiskey. There are signs of age, though, with tannins and astringency closer to steeped tea than leather and tobacco. Marzipan also accumulates across the palate, along with strawberries and cream carried by a mouthfeel that’s perhaps a shade thinner than the prior batches.

Finish

Dried raspberries take the spotlight here. There’s also a composed dose of bittersweet chocolate, which was a nice complement coming off a near-confectionary backpalate. It’s a fitting end to the narrative we’ve come to expect from Cellar Aged releases, an impressive joining of wood with red fruit — with heaping helpings of other flavors in fits and spurts.

Maker’s Mark Cellar 2025 Aged Rating

94/100

Recap

This latest Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is a worthy addition to the line. In a lineup, my slight preference may be the 2024 version, but that’s truly splitting hairs. It’s the brand’s most expensive and most premium bottling for a reason: this is adroitly aged bourbon, showcasing the potential of Maker’s wheated mash bill and leaving few flavor quadrants unexplored.

Reviewed On: 09-30-2025
94
POINTS
Maker's Mark Cellar Aged (2025)
In 2023, Maker’s Mark created quite a stir in the bourbon world by releasing its first-ever age-stated whiskey: Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged. Of course, that almost seems like old news at this point. Indeed, the brand’s “normal” (and almost always reliable) Cask Strength releases now contain age statements on the label. But three years in, Cellar Aged remains the distillery’s most premium release, a blend of whiskey aged well beyond the brand’s typical four-to-eight year range. That’s accomplished via a change of environment, whereby barrels of mature Maker’s Mark bourbon are transferred to the brand’s large “cellar,” carved deep into a limestone hill adjoining the distillery. The cellar began operating in December 2016, and it maintains a fairly consistent, cooler climate than a typical warehouse. While originally built to age Maker’s Mark 46, the cellar is now an integral part of the Cellar Aged program. Barrels spend additional years aging there while the impact of heat and temperature swings are dialed way back. This third and latest cellar aged release comes from a blend of the following component bourbons:
  • 74 percent 11-year-old bourbon
  • 10 percent 13-year-old bourbon
  • 16 percent 14-year-old bourbon
That 14-year-old bourbon is the oldest-ever officially acknowledged component in a Maker’s Mark product. For comparison, last year’s blend consisted of 15 percent 12-year-old bourbon and 85 percent 13-year-old bourbon. Like all Maker’s Mark bourbon, Cellar Aged is made from a mash bill of 70 percent corn, 16 percent soft red winter wheat, and 14 percent malted barley. This year’s release is bottled at 56.45 percent ABV, a bit lower than 2024’s 59.65 percent. Let’s see how the newest Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged tastes!

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025: Stats and Availability

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged maintains its $175 MSRP from last year. (The suggested retail price was $150 in 2023.) The brand won’t confirm an exact bottle count on the record, but back in 2023, representatives suggested there were between 20,000 and 30,000 bottles released globally. The premium bourbon market has experienced a softening recently, at least insofar as retail markups. While I still expect to see bottles of Cellar Aged go for $200 or above in certain markets, the bottle may actually be a bit more accessible than it was back in 2023. It’s now out to the public in the United States, Germany, and some travel retail. Bottles will be distributed to the U.K., Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore between now and early 2026.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Review

As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.

Nose

With three batches of Cellar Aged released, we can finally start spotting trends! On the nose, this 2025 version instantly reminds me of 2024: baked orchard fruit leads and gets more intensely spiced with time, transitioning from caramel-drizzled apple pie into dark, heavily reduced apple butter. That baking spice builds and never relents — it’s one of the punchiest Maker’s Mark releases I’ve sampled recently — while just barely retaining the underlying fruit. Burnt citrus takes a few minutes to develop (a drop of water helps), adding some welcome tartness. There’s also an early and semi-intense burst of Luxardo cherry. That specific fruit component eventually gives way to oak, and there’s lots of it here; while 11-year bourbon makes up the bulk of liquid in the bottle, that older juice is certainly present and accounted for. At its core, nosing the 2025 release isn’t a fundamentally different experience than its immediate predecessor. But the interplay between dark cherry and toasted, tannic oak influence feels more pronounced. Speaking of comparison, this latest release also boasts more cocoa and coffee on the nose. There’s a little mocha, some almond extract, and a lot of milk caramel. I (briefly) worried this batch might even lean too tannic, which might sound near-catastrophic for fans of Maker’s Mark’s decidedly approachable, sweet profile. But those last hits of chocolate and caramel pull things back before they reach the brink. Combined with lingering cherry and apple, it’s a nose that came to wrestle. Ultimately, I’m glad I stuck around for the bout.

Taste

A first sip is surprisingly tempered, though not exactly tame. Here, apple and cherry hit simultaneously, like a mixed fruit pie or cobbler with a cinnamon and sugar-spiced crust. The second sip gets both creamier and more tart; that combination of raspberries and sweet cream is reminiscent of 2024’s release. There are even small hits of ripe mulberries and blackcurrant jam, making this the most berry-forward of the Cellar Aged series (at least to my palate). Honey layers in, and by a few sips in, we’ve got a melange akin to a sweetened, berry-infused herbal tea. The bourbon maintains much of that berry character up to and even past the midpalate. Oak is less punchy than on the nose, which isn’t too out of the ordinary for a blend containing a smaller percentage of older whiskey. There are signs of age, though, with tannins and astringency closer to steeped tea than leather and tobacco. Marzipan also accumulates across the palate, along with strawberries and cream carried by a mouthfeel that’s perhaps a shade thinner than the prior batches.

Finish

Dried raspberries take the spotlight here. There’s also a composed dose of bittersweet chocolate, which was a nice complement coming off a near-confectionary backpalate. It’s a fitting end to the narrative we’ve come to expect from Cellar Aged releases, an impressive joining of wood with red fruit — with heaping helpings of other flavors in fits and spurts.

Maker’s Mark Cellar 2025 Aged Rating

94/100

Recap

This latest Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is a worthy addition to the line. In a lineup, my slight preference may be the 2024 version, but that’s truly splitting hairs. It’s the brand’s most expensive and most premium bottling for a reason: this is adroitly aged bourbon, showcasing the potential of Maker’s wheated mash bill and leaving few flavor quadrants unexplored.

Reviewed On: 09-30-2025