Table Of Contents

The Details

Rating 95
Style
American Whiskey
Whiskey
Produced In Kentucky
United States
ABV 56.1%
Availability Limited
Price $175.00 
Reviewed By
Review Updated 2026-08-20

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Review

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Whiskey Stats and Availability

The fourth edition of the Loretto, Ky. distillery’s annual limited release, this is also the most mature bottling the brand has produced. This year’s is a blend of 11-year-old (49 percent), 12-year-old (33 percent), and 14-year-old (18 percent) bourbons that have been matured in their final years in the cool cellar built into the limestone shelf beneath Star Hill Farm. Master distiller Dr. Blake Layfield oversaw the blending. The 2026 release arrives in limited numbers (perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 bottles based on previous years’ stats) to U.S. retailers on September 1 before rolling out to the U.K., Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia, and global travel retail. At $175 MSRP it seems to mostly hold to that value year after year and not soar much higher on the secondary market, which is a great thing for you.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026)

If Maker’s Mark had mostly been ignored by the extremely online bourbon cognoscenti, that would all change with the first edition of the Cellar Aged series in 2023. Suddenly, there was a mature, age-stated edition of the ubiquitous wheated bourbon; something that was every bit as tasty as the more ballyhooed “wheaters” longstanding on the allocated market (Pappy Van Winkle, certain Wellers, etc.), but a bit easier to find and certainly more affordable.

If the series started with a blend of 11- and 12-year-old stock, this year bumps the barrels to a combo of 11-, 12-, and 14-year-olds — the series’ oldest release to date. Slowly but steadily, Cellar Aged has become one of the most reliably good limited releases in any given year. 2026’s edition is no exception and, I must admit, few other annual allocated releases excite me as much.

I was sent a full bottle in its handsome, understated packaging, and enjoyed a couple Glencairns of it neat.

The nose offers a certain nuttiness, with hints of cherry soda, baking spices, and a touch of wood. The palate offers peanut, plum, and butterscotch pudding, backed by an underlying woody maturity that is not tannic whatsoever, a rarity for a bourbon at cask-strength as this is. This finish is long but not hot, coating the palate in pecan pie and more spice. Bottled at a sweet spot of maturity, sweet/dry balance, and proof, this is perhaps the best this series has offered so far.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Rating

95/100

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Recap

With yet another release this good, Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is enough to make you wonder whether you should still be wasting your time pursuing the long-held unicorns of the industry. If found at or around retail price, you can’t do much better for high-end bourbon these days.

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95
POINTS
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026)

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Whiskey Stats and Availability

The fourth edition of the Loretto, Ky. distillery’s annual limited release, this is also the most mature bottling the brand has produced. This year’s is a blend of 11-year-old (49 percent), 12-year-old (33 percent), and 14-year-old (18 percent) bourbons that have been matured in their final years in the cool cellar built into the limestone shelf beneath Star Hill Farm. Master distiller Dr. Blake Layfield oversaw the blending. The 2026 release arrives in limited numbers (perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 bottles based on previous years’ stats) to U.S. retailers on September 1 before rolling out to the U.K., Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia, and global travel retail. At $175 MSRP it seems to mostly hold to that value year after year and not soar much higher on the secondary market, which is a great thing for you.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026)

If Maker’s Mark had mostly been ignored by the extremely online bourbon cognoscenti, that would all change with the first edition of the Cellar Aged series in 2023. Suddenly, there was a mature, age-stated edition of the ubiquitous wheated bourbon; something that was every bit as tasty as the more ballyhooed “wheaters” longstanding on the allocated market (Pappy Van Winkle, certain Wellers, etc.), but a bit easier to find and certainly more affordable. If the series started with a blend of 11- and 12-year-old stock, this year bumps the barrels to a combo of 11-, 12-, and 14-year-olds — the series’ oldest release to date. Slowly but steadily, Cellar Aged has become one of the most reliably good limited releases in any given year. 2026’s edition is no exception and, I must admit, few other annual allocated releases excite me as much. I was sent a full bottle in its handsome, understated packaging, and enjoyed a couple Glencairns of it neat. The nose offers a certain nuttiness, with hints of cherry soda, baking spices, and a touch of wood. The palate offers peanut, plum, and butterscotch pudding, backed by an underlying woody maturity that is not tannic whatsoever, a rarity for a bourbon at cask-strength as this is. This finish is long but not hot, coating the palate in pecan pie and more spice. Bottled at a sweet spot of maturity, sweet/dry balance, and proof, this is perhaps the best this series has offered so far.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Rating

95/100

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Recap

With yet another release this good, Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is enough to make you wonder whether you should still be wasting your time pursuing the long-held unicorns of the industry. If found at or around retail price, you can’t do much better for high-end bourbon these days.

Reviewed On: 08-21-2026
95
POINTS
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026)

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Whiskey Stats and Availability

The fourth edition of the Loretto, Ky. distillery’s annual limited release, this is also the most mature bottling the brand has produced. This year’s is a blend of 11-year-old (49 percent), 12-year-old (33 percent), and 14-year-old (18 percent) bourbons that have been matured in their final years in the cool cellar built into the limestone shelf beneath Star Hill Farm. Master distiller Dr. Blake Layfield oversaw the blending. The 2026 release arrives in limited numbers (perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 bottles based on previous years’ stats) to U.S. retailers on September 1 before rolling out to the U.K., Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia, and global travel retail. At $175 MSRP it seems to mostly hold to that value year after year and not soar much higher on the secondary market, which is a great thing for you.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026)

If Maker’s Mark had mostly been ignored by the extremely online bourbon cognoscenti, that would all change with the first edition of the Cellar Aged series in 2023. Suddenly, there was a mature, age-stated edition of the ubiquitous wheated bourbon; something that was every bit as tasty as the more ballyhooed “wheaters” longstanding on the allocated market (Pappy Van Winkle, certain Wellers, etc.), but a bit easier to find and certainly more affordable. If the series started with a blend of 11- and 12-year-old stock, this year bumps the barrels to a combo of 11-, 12-, and 14-year-olds — the series’ oldest release to date. Slowly but steadily, Cellar Aged has become one of the most reliably good limited releases in any given year. 2026’s edition is no exception and, I must admit, few other annual allocated releases excite me as much. I was sent a full bottle in its handsome, understated packaging, and enjoyed a couple Glencairns of it neat. The nose offers a certain nuttiness, with hints of cherry soda, baking spices, and a touch of wood. The palate offers peanut, plum, and butterscotch pudding, backed by an underlying woody maturity that is not tannic whatsoever, a rarity for a bourbon at cask-strength as this is. This finish is long but not hot, coating the palate in pecan pie and more spice. Bottled at a sweet spot of maturity, sweet/dry balance, and proof, this is perhaps the best this series has offered so far.

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Rating

95/100

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged (2026) Recap

With yet another release this good, Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is enough to make you wonder whether you should still be wasting your time pursuing the long-held unicorns of the industry. If found at or around retail price, you can’t do much better for high-end bourbon these days.

Reviewed On: 08-21-2026