Review #751 - Maker's Mark Cellar Aged (2023)
Maker's Mark isn't in the habit of releasing age-stated bourbons - essentially every bourbon they have bottled leaves that maturation time as a mystery, though we know the general ranges for their core range products. That changed in 2023, though, with the distillery's first release of an older, age-stated product: Maker's Mark Cellar Aged.
This 2023 edition of Cellar Aged is comprised of 11 year old and 12 year old bourbon. The barrels that made up this batch first started with traditional maturation in rickhouses in Kentucky, but when they were designated for extended maturation, they were moved to Maker's Mark's Limestone Cellar, an underground, temperature-controlled warehouse with much cooler temperatures than a traditional rickhouse.
The lower temperature and humidity fluctuations in this limestone hill warehouse 'slow down' the maturation process, which allows the bourbon to age more gracefully with less danger of over-oaking. This underground aging process is not a new concept; it's been used in wine and brandy production for hundreds of years.
The 2023 release of Cellar Aged is bottled at a potent strength of 57.85% ABV (115.7 proof), and it originally retailed for about $150.
Maker's Mark Cellar Aged (2023)
USA - Bourbon
MSRP: USD 150 (2023)
Available Price: USD 270 (2025, based on recent auction results)
Age Statement: 11 Years
Strength: 57.85% ABV
Details: Bottled 2023
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times (once blind) over 3 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Light and sweet, creamy, with sweet grain, vanilla, creme brulee, and cotton candy notes. Oak starts out quite reserved, adding just a bit of cinnamon, but it slowly grows. More sweet notes arrive: cream soda, orange, hints of raisin, and strawberry bubblegum... butterscotch and maple syrup, too.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness; oak is a bit stronger to start, bringing some wood spice or tannins, but also cinnamon. We get some brown sugar, cake icing, and maple syrup, as well as hints of savory orange and raisin; accents included a hint of soap and vanilla.
Finish: Warming with leathery oak, tannins, and dry vanilla. Brown sugar brings sweetness again, while soft tobacco flavors and pepper bring a drying side. In the aftertaste, we get wheat grain; it's a medium-long finish, nicely balanced.
Final Note: This is a good bourbon, one that displays more complexity that most other Maker's Mark bourbons. Despite that increased complexity from the aging time, though, we were a bit surprised how subtle the wood profile was - we did get oak, but it was somewhat drying and tannic, not the sweet old oak that we often find on older bourbons. We did get a bit of tobacco in the finish, but if we had guessed the age of this bottle blind, we probably would have said between 7 and 9 years old.
For us, this bottle is a little pricey, even at MSRP, for the flavor you're actually getting in the bottle; the secondary pricing is more than that, so value is below average in our books.
Our Rating: 7.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating (MSRP): 5.57
Value Rating (Available Price): 4.58
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Maker’s Mark reviews:
Review #710 - Maker's Mark The Heart Release 2024
Review #691 - Star Hill Farm American Wheat Whisky (2025)
Review #677 - Maker's Mark Lost Recipe Edition 02 (2025)
Review #593 - Maker's Mark Limited Edition (Gold Wax, Early 1990s)
