diff --git a/source/cmake/version.cmake b/source/cmake/version.cmake
index b1e995f..d7df148 100644
--- a/source/cmake/version.cmake
+++ b/source/cmake/version.cmake
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ find_package(Git QUIET) # present in 2.8.8
 
 # defaults, in case everything below fails
 set(X265_VERSION "unknown")
-set(X265_LATEST_TAG "0.0")
+set(X265_LATEST_TAG "0.0" CACHE STRING "x265 version")
 set(X265_TAG_DISTANCE "0")
 
 if(EXISTS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../.hg_archival.txt)