Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Review
“Cellar Aged Series”
The third release of Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged has been released! Previous batches have used a blend of two age stated bourbons, but the 2025 release features a blend of 3 different aged bourbons, 74% 11-year, 10% 13-year, and 16% 14-year. The addition of a 14 year barrel to the blend means this year’s release has the oldest bourbon that Maker’s has ever put into a bottle. Grab a pour and take your own notes while I work through the Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 review.
Series: Cellar Aged
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age: 11 years (plus 10% 13 yr, 16% 14 yr)
Proof: 112.9
Proof Designation: Cask Strength
Filtered Status: Non-Chill Filtered
Mash bill: 70% Corn, 16% Rye, 14% Malted Barley
Barrel Char Level: 3
Barrel Entry Proof: 110
Still Type: Column Still first, then Pot Still
Distillate Source: Maker’s Mark
Distillery: Maker’s Mark
Company: Beam Suntory
Distilled/Aging Location: Loretto, Kentucky
Master Distiller: Dr. Blake Layfield
Release Date: September 2025
MSRP: $175
Secondary Market: $250 $400
Availability: Low/Rare
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Review
October 14, 2025
My tasting reviews are unique in that I include the notes of several well-known whiskey critics. The hope is that this format will help me and others to explore and expand their tasting experience. After you have taken your own tasting notes, read the reviews and see if there is a flavor note that others discerned that now you can detect as well.
For this tasting: Opened Bottle (about 2 days), Glencairn Glass, Neat, Room Temp, Breathe: 5 minutes
Legs
Beads form on the crown at about 7 seconds, the legs form at about 23 seconds, and the first legs reach the bowl at about 37 seconds.
Nose
Caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, custard, funky old oak, sweet oak, an apple pie note, sweet leather.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: I get that Maker’s red winter wheat, but I also get a lot of caramel
apple here, which is kind of nice. Yeah, it’s hard to get beyond that caramel apple peel. It’s pretty strong for me. I think you can make a case for a little milk chocolate. The oak is definitely present.
This almost comes off like a toasted bourbon to me. I feel like I’m getting s’mores in here, like chocolate, marshmallow. Um, but that caramel apple note is still pretty strong. It actually smells pretty good. I’m not really getting kind of like that weird Maker’s Mark sour note that I don’t like.
Bourbon Banter: The nose is complex and spicy, laden with toffee, caramel and ripe stone fruits. Toasted oak really shines, as does lemon peel. Stick with it to get what Maker’s lead blender, Beth Buckner, describes as “creamy fudge.” No denying that note, but don’t think it’s a dessert whiskey only. It dances adroitly with more savory foods such as grilled meats and vegetables.
Secret Whiskey Society: Baked apple pie, brown sugar, cinnamon, toasted oak, vanilla, light fruits, apple, apricot, baking spice, cereal grain, toffee.
Palate
Baking spices, cinnamon, caramel, white pepper, vanilla, oak, custard, barrel char, leather, coffee, hint of fig, orange peel, chocolate, a hint of chestnuts. It is spice forward, more savory than sweet, drying on the palate, and has a mildly bitter flavor on the back palate.
2025 Cellar Aged is similar to 2024 in it’s savoriness and mild sweetness. But, 2025 is definitely more spicy and dry.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: I’m not getting any of those weird sour notes that I got on the 24, at least not on the first sip. I like this cuz it’s very baking spice heavy. It’s extremely cinnamon, nutmeg, there’s some black pepper there.
I’m digging the flavor profile. It’s a spicier Maker’s Mark profile. And when I say spicier, I don’t mean red pepper spice. I mean like baking spice. It’s also a lot darker than I expected coming off the nose. When you get caramel apple, you think it’s going to be a little bit brighter, but it’s actually a rich profile here.
So, third sip. There’s something a little tart coming to the forefront, whether it’s like a pomegranate type of note, but there’s something a little bit tart right on the mid palette mixed with the chocolate, the caramel apple, some of that oak, and again, a lot of that baking spice.
Bourbon Banter: On the palate abundant flavors shift from ripe green and red apples to toasted oak, toasted wheat bread and bruleed sugar to light caramel and campfire. Each subsequent sip warms the palate while affixing layers of cinnamon and baking spice. My notes from that day’s call included “flat Dr. Pepper,” as in rich, deeply sweet and bold.
Secret Whiskey Society: Rich caramel, bold vanilla, toasted and charred oak, oaky tannic spice, chocolate, baking spice, citrus, light fruits, tobacco, earthy, leather, cinnamon roll pastry, powdered sugar.
Finish
Medium-long finish with caramel, old oak, barrel char, leather, vanilla, chocolate, fig and a bitter-sour note at the tail-end of the finish.
Other Reviewer’s Perceptions
Mash & Drum: I like the dark flavor I’m getting on the finish. It’s borderline coffee bean a little bit.
Bourbon Banter: A warm, long, semi-dry and lightly chocolatey finish.
Secret Whiskey Society: Big rich finish full of oaky tannic spice and brown sugar sweetness – lasts quite a long time.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel is Silken. The silken mouthfeel is dominated by the pour’s dryness, spice, and oak notes.
Mouthfeel Rating Guide: Thin = Watery | Silken = smooth & slippery, but not mouth coating | Creamy = coats the tongue like heavy cream does. | Rich or Unctuous = coats the entire palate like quality olive oil
The Burn
The alcohol burn is Average, meaning that it drinks at its proof point. I would guess this to be around 110 proof. The silkiness is nice, but the oak tannins and spice breaks through and overcomes the viscosity.
The Burn Rating Guide:
Very Low = it drinks like it is a much lower proof
Low = it drinks like it is a little lower proof
Average = the heat is about what I would expect
Hot = it is hotter than what I would expect
Scorching! = it drinks much hotter than what I would expect
Tasting Summary
The 2025 Cellar Aged is similar to the 2024 in that it is more savory and spicy than the 2023 release. The nose is very nice! But sadly, for me the nose is better than the palate. Baking spices, barrel tannins and alcohol heat hit the palate first, followed by some sweetness of light caramel, vanilla and custard along with an apple pie note. This is followed with more barrel char and some sour bitterness.
There are a lot of flavors here, but overall it is a little disappointing for me, having complexity but not a better balance between sweet, spice, and oak. It’s a good pour, but not great. For me, it needs a little more sweetness and viscosity to balance the spiciness and oak tannins. But, if you enjoy a spicy semi-dry pour, then you might love this.
The 2025 Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged is my least favorite of the three releases.
My Rating – 8.4
The higher the score the better the whiskey is in my opinion. For reference, my best rated bottle so far is the George T. Stagg 2022 (138.7p) with a score of 9.7.
| Score Type | Score | Examples |
| Likability Score | 8.4 | 1.0 – 10.0 |
My Tasting Notes
A blank version of this tasting notes wheel is available in both a color and a black & white version in the member’s area.
Observations
This is an excellent bourbon to put into a flight to explore the flavors/influence of oak on a bourbon. Since this is a wheated bourbon (i.e. no rye in the mashbill), the spiciness of the pour comes from the barrel and not from the grains.
Notes and History
The Maker’s Mark limestone cellar, created in 2016, was originally built to age barrels for its Maker’s 46 and Private Select products. Carved into a limestone hill on the distillery’s campus, it provides a stable, cool environment ((47° F)) for barrels that have aged in traditional rickhouses, which helps the whisky develop depth without becoming over-oaked. This cellar concept later evolved into the basis for the annual Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged release, which marks the company’s venture into offering older bourbons.
From Maker’s Mark:
“When creating Cellar Aged, we set out to do something new without forgetting who we are or what we stand for. Creating a bourbon that’s always aged to taste, not time. A bourbon without the bite, that’s always smooth. Aging our whisky for over a decade wasn’t something we ever did. Not because we didn’t believe in it, but because we hadn’t found our way of doing it. In many ways, Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged defines an older whisky that’s distinctly Maker’s. One rooted in challenging convention, asking “what if” and building on a taste vision that’s generations in the making. By embracing both the maturation impact of our traditional warehouse and the unique maturation impact of our Limestone Cellar, we’ve created an expression that’s richer and complex, without the bitterness. The 2025 release is a blend of 11-, 13- and 14-year-old Maker’s Mark, delivering a fruitier, deeper and darker bourbon.”
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