What’s The Difference Between Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskeys?

Every bottle of Maker’s Mark starts as the same whisky: one wheated mash bill, distilled at the same still and put into new charred oak at the same proof. What separates the red-wax bottle from Maker’s 46, Cask Strength, 101, Private Selection, the Wood Finishing Series, Cellar Aged and the new Star Hill Farm wheat whisky is proof, age and what happens to the barrel after the whisky is mature. Here is each expression with its proof, what was done to it and when it launched, the legal bourbon rules the distillery works inside, the printed history (including the 2013 proof cut that lasted a week), and how many standard drinks are in a pour of each.

Last verified September 14, 2026. Expression details are from makersmark.com and Suntory Global Spirits press releases; the bourbon definition is 27 CFR 5.143; the barrel-entry-proof figures are from the distillery’s Jane Bowie as quoted by Distillery Trail; history from the producer’s timeline, WhiskyCast, Louisville Public Media and The Spirits Business; standard drinks from NIAAA; calories from USDA FoodData Central. Full list at the end.

One recipe, one distillate

Bourbon under 27 CFR 5.143 must be made from a fermented mash of at least 51 percent corn, distilled at 160 proof or less, and stored in charred new oak barrels at 125 proof or less, with no coloring or flavoring added. “Straight” bourbon adds a minimum of two years in that oak. Maker’s Mark’s grain bill is 70 percent corn, 16 percent soft red winter wheat and 14 percent malted barley; the wheat takes the place of the rye most bourbons use as the secondary grain, which is all “wheated bourbon” means. “Wheated” is a trade term, not a legal class. The whisky comes off the still at about 130 proof and goes into the barrel at 110, according to the distillery’s director of innovation, Jane Bowie, well under the 125 ceiling. That low entry proof is the reason the cask-strength releases land in the 107 to 114 range rather than the 120s.

Barrels are rotated by hand between rackhouse levels during aging, and the distillery bottles the flagship when it judges it ready rather than at a fixed age. The same distillate, aged the same way, is the starting point for everything below.

The Maker’s Mark range

Maker’s Mark, 90 proof

The flagship, and the whisky every other expression is made from. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky at 45 percent ABV, bottled without an age statement. The distillery’s own line is that it “usually takes between six to seven years for the whisky to be ready.” A 1.5 oz pour is 1.13 standard drinks and about 108 calories.

Maker’s Mark 46, 94 proof

Introduced in 2010 as the first new expression since the original 1958 bottling. Fully matured Maker’s Mark is put back into its barrel with ten seared French oak staves and rested in the distillery’s limestone cellar, which the Private Selection program (the same process) describes as about nine weeks. It is not older whisky; it is the same whisky given a second round of wood. 47 percent ABV, 1.18 standard drinks per 1.5 oz. A limited 46 Cask Strength at 109.6 proof marked the tenth anniversary in 2020.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, 107 to 114 proof

First sold on September 1, 2014 at 113.2 proof in a 375 mL bottle through the distillery gift shop and a few Kentucky retailers, now a regular release. The producer’s current description: “bottled at barrel proof,” in batches of “just twenty-four barrels,” “aged to taste for a minimum of seven years,” with “nothing added or taken away.” Because it goes into the barrel at 110 proof, it comes out in the 107 to 114 range; the exact figure is printed on each label. At 110 proof a 1.5 oz pour is 1.38 standard drinks, about 22 percent more alcohol than the same pour of the 90 proof.

Maker’s Mark 101, 101 proof

The standard bourbon at 50.5 percent ABV. It launched on October 23, 2018 as the brand’s first global-travel-retail exclusive in a 1 L bottle and reached US shelves later; the US date is reported as 2020 but we could not confirm it against a press release. 1.26 standard drinks per 1.5 oz.

Private Selection, cask strength

Launched October 6, 2015 as “Private Select.” A retailer, bar or restaurant buys a barrel of mature Maker’s Mark and chooses ten finishing staves from five types (Baked American Pure 2, Seared French Cuvée, Maker’s 46, Roasted French Mocha and Toasted French Spice), which gives 1,001 possible combinations. The barrel then spends nine more weeks in the limestone cellar and is bottled at cask strength, 107 to 114 proof. Each barrel is sold through the buyer who picked it, so the label names the store and the stave recipe.

Wood Finishing Series, annual

One nationally distributed limited release a year, cask strength, each with its own ten-stave recipe. The first, in September 2019, was described by the company as “the first nationally available limited release.” From 2024 the series has honored distillery teams instead of naming stave codes. Proofs by year are in the table below.

Cellar Aged, annual

The oldest Maker’s Mark. Barrels spend the usual six to seven years in the warehouses, then four to six more in the limestone cellar, which the distillery says stays “consistently around 50-degrees.” Unlike the rest of the range these carry ages.

Star Hill Farm Whisky: not a bourbon

Announced April 8, 2025, this is the distillery’s first new mash bill in about seventy years and its first whisky with no corn at all, so it cannot be called bourbon. The 2025 release blends two mash bills (70 percent soft red winter wheat with 30 percent malted barley, and 100 percent malted soft red winter wheat) from 7- and 8-year-old whiskies at 114.7 proof. The 2026 release is 116.4 proof and adds hard red and hard white wheat. Under 27 CFR 5.143 a wheat whisky is made from at least 51 percent wheat and otherwise follows the bourbon rules on distillation proof, new charred oak and entry proof; the label reads “American Wheat Whisky.”

How strong each one is

NIAAA counts one standard drink as 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol. For a 1.5 oz pour the math is (1.5 × ABV) ÷ 0.6. Calories are the USDA figure for 80-proof spirits (96 per 1.5 oz) scaled by proof, since all of the calories in an unflavored whisky are the alcohol.

A 750 mL bottle of the 90 proof holds 337.5 mL of ethanol, which is 19.1 standard drinks, or about 17 pours of 1.5 oz. Pouring a cask-strength bottle the way you pour the 90 proof puts about a fifth to a quarter more alcohol in the glass; for the same standard drink, pour about 1.2 oz of the 110 proof instead of 1.5. More on reading proof at What Is 80 Proof and on bottle math at How Much Is a Fifth.

Maker’s Mark history, with dates

Three things worth getting right. Maker’s Mark was never sold at 84 proof; the 2013 cut was reversed before it reached shelves in any volume. “Whisky” without the e is a spelling the family chose, not a sign of Scottish or Canadian production; the bottle is a Kentucky straight bourbon under US law. And Maker’s 46 is not an older bourbon; it is the same mature whisky finished with staves. The older bottles are the Cellar Aged releases.

Which Maker’s Mark to buy

The label tells you the two things that differ: proof and finish. If you want the base bourbon, that is the 90 proof. If you want the same bourbon with more alcohol per ounce, Cask Strength (107 to 114) or 101. If you want to see what a stave finish does to it, Maker’s 46 is the one always in distribution; Private Selection is the same idea with a store’s own stave recipe, so availability depends on which shop bought a barrel. The Wood Finishing Series, Cellar Aged and Star Hill Farm are annual and limited. For how Maker’s Mark compares with a rye-recipe bourbon, see Bulleit vs Maker’s Mark.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Maker’s Mark and Maker’s 46? Proof and finishing. 46 is fully matured Maker’s Mark put back in the barrel with ten seared French oak staves for about nine weeks in a limestone cellar, bottled at 94 proof instead of 90. It is not older whisky.

What proof is Maker’s Mark Cask Strength? 107 to 114, printed on each label. It goes into the barrel at 110 proof, so it comes out near there.

Is Maker’s Mark a wheated bourbon? Yes. The mash bill is 70 percent corn, 16 percent soft red winter wheat and 14 percent malted barley; wheat replaces the rye most bourbons use. “Wheated” is a trade term, not a legal category.

How old is Maker’s Mark? The flagship carries no age statement; the distillery says usually six to seven years. Cellar Aged releases are 11 to 14 years.

Was Maker’s Mark ever 84 proof? No. The company announced a cut from 90 to 84 proof in February 2013 and reversed it about a week later.

Who owns Maker’s Mark? Suntory Global Spirits, the company formerly called Beam Suntory, which Suntory formed when it bought Beam Inc. in 2014.

Is Star Hill Farm Whisky a bourbon? No. It has no corn, so it is an American wheat whisky under 27 CFR 5.143.

Sources

• Maker’s Mark: Our Story timeline, How It’s Made, Maker’s Mark 46, Cask Strength, 101, Private Selection, Cellar Aged, Wood Finishing Series and Star Hill Farm Whisky, checked September 14, 2026
• Suntory Global Spirits press releases: Private Select (2015), Wood Finishing Series RC6 (2019), SE4 x PR5 (2020), FAE-01 and FAE-02 (2021), The Heart Release (2024), The Keepers Release (2025), The Stewards Release (2026), Cellar Aged (2023), Cellar Aged (2025), Star Hill Farm Whisky (2025) and Beam Suntory rebrands (2024), checked September 14, 2026
• eCFR: 27 CFR 5.143, Whisky, 27 CFR 5.74, Age statements and 27 CFR 5.1, Proof, checked September 14, 2026
• Distillery Trail, barrel entry proof experiment (2021) and Cellar Aged 2024, checked September 14, 2026
• Louisville Public Media, proof cut (February 10, 2013), WhiskyCast, proof cut and reversal (2013) and WhiskyCast, Suntory completes Beam acquisition (2014), checked September 14, 2026
• The Spirits Business, Maker’s Mark brand history (2019) and Maker’s Mark 101 launch (2018), checked September 14, 2026
• BourbonBlog, Cask Strength first release (2014), The Bourbon Review, 46 Cask Strength (2020), Breaking Bourbon, mash bill, KY Supply Co, Wood Finishing Series releases, NC Whiskey, BRT-01 and BRT-02 label data and Malt, Maker’s Mark 101, checked September 14, 2026
• Wikipedia, Maker’s Mark (citing AP 2011 and 2014) and List of National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky, checked September 14, 2026
• NIAAA, What is a standard drink and USDA FoodData Central, distilled spirits 80 proof (174815), checked September 14, 2026

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