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Lexington Herald-Leader

Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2024 is coming: Where and when to find this special bourbon.

Janet Patton
3 min read
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Last year, premium whisky distiller Maker’s Mark brought out its special Cellar Aged, its first older bourbon, something fans had long sought.

Now, for 2024, they’re releasing their oldest one yet: This year’s version is a blend of 12- and 13-year-old Maker’s Mark. And they are doing it at this weekend’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival, when thousands of fans come to Bardstown to celebrate.

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“We surprised the world with the debut of Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged last year, a bold step in our family’s legacy because, for more than 65 years aging our whisky for a decade-plus wasn’t something we did,” said Rob Samuels, Maker’s Mark managing director and an eighth-generation whisky maker, in a statement.

New Maker’s Mark: Kentucky distillery adding its first older bourbon to bottle lineup

Maker’s Mark is releasing its 2024 Cellar Aged bourbon beginning Sept. 9. The special whisky also will be available at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown and at the Loretto distillery.
Maker’s Mark is releasing its 2024 Cellar Aged bourbon beginning Sept. 9. The special whisky also will be available at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown and at the Loretto distillery.

This year they are announcing the release ahead of time, and giving details on how fans might get a bottle.

The bourbon will have a suggested retail price of $174.99 and will be available in the U.S. beginning Sept. 9 and in the UK, Germany and select Global Travel Retail accounts in the coming weeks, and in Korea, Japan and Singapore in early 2025, according to Maker’s Mark, which is owned by Suntory Global Spirits.

Where to find 2024 Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged bourbon

Bottles will be at select retailers in Kentucky, but there are two places you can find Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged if you’re lucky enough to get in:

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? At the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Sept. 13-15 in Bardstown. A limited number of bottles will be available each day at the festival, sold on a first-come, first-served basis, one per person, and a ticket is required to access the Maker’s Mark booth.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival tickets and VIP packages are sold out, so if you haven’t got a ticket already, you can’t get in to buy the bottle.

? At the Maker’s Mark Distillery, 3350 Burkes Spring Road in Loretto, a limited number of pre-dipped bottles will be available during the Bourbon Festival. Distillery gates will open at 5 a.m. each morning and guests 21 or older may show an ID to get a ticket to hold place in line. At 9 a.m., ticketed guests can go into the Visitor Center to buy a bottle while they last (one ticket/one bottle per person.)

Overnight parking/camping or loitering outside the distillery entrance before the gates open is not permitted; distillery facilities, including restrooms, will not be available until 9 a.m.

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Beginning Sept. 16, Cellar Aged 2024 will be available at Maker’s Mark by booking the Cellar Aged Experience.

Maker’s Mark 2024 Cellar Aged is the distiller’s “most mature bourbon yet,” a blend of whisky aged 12 and 13 years. It’s 119.3 proof and has a suggested retail price of $174.55.
Maker’s Mark 2024 Cellar Aged is the distiller’s “most mature bourbon yet,” a blend of whisky aged 12 and 13 years. It’s 119.3 proof and has a suggested retail price of $174.55.

What does 2024 Cellar Aged taste like?

This “most mature bourbon yet” is 119.3 proof, with a nose of caramelized sugar, zesty citrus and toasted almond. On the palate, it’s buttery shortbread, coconut and bright spices, with a mouth-coating finish of dried dark fruit and oak.

Like the original Cellar Aged, this year’s release was finished the cool cellar that was specially built into the limestone shelf on the distillery grounds in Loretto.

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