Michter’s outstanding new bourbon comes with a cost
It’s difficult not to be impressed by what Michter’s is doing down in Shively, Kentucky, these days.
The sterling American whiskey brand is responsible for some of the most sought-after spirits currently on shelves, and the talented folks behind those liquids have found a way to routinely bottle sensational bourbons bearing extended age statements (upwards of two decades), despite the fact that most comparably aged bottlings tend to be well past their prime.
So remarkable is the string of successes, in fact, that last year the brand was crowned the “World’s Most Admired Whiskey” in an independent survey of whiskey experts, journalists, bartenders and consumers.
Proving it has no plans to rest on its laurels, Michter’s has just dropped its first significant release of 2024. The latest batch of Michter’s 10-Year Bourbon is here – and it’s a banger.
Unlike other exalted expressions in the whiskey world, this single-barrel offering – recognizable by a cork topper sealed in black wax – doesn’t come around with any sort of confirmed regularity. We previously saw an edition arrive in late autumn of 2023. Before that, it hadn’t hit shelves since 2021.
“Our production team has always given tremendous consideration to what they feel is ready to release, but after this honor, the stakes seem even higher,” says Michter’s president Joseph Magliocco, alluding to the “Most Admired Whiskey” accolade.
As always, though, he entrusts the process to master distiller Dan McKee and master of maturation Andrea Wilson. Together, they sample thousands of casks, pulling only the ones which fit an exacting flavor profile – after a minimum of 10 years of patient aging, of course. According to Wilson, they typically err on the side of selecting casks that go well beyond that decade benchmark.
At any rate, age is just a number on the bottle. What they’re seeking in the liquid – traditionally proofed at 94.4 – is something that noses with confectionery aromas, and drinks with dried fruit delicacy, delivered on a creamy, burnt-auburn body. The exact nuances might fluctuate slightly from cask to cask, but that’s a feature, not a flaw, in any single barrel release. And the goalposts stated above hold true in every last drop of the 2024 edition.
“It’s brimming with all the characteristics that I look for in a special bourbon,” McKee explains.
He’s biased. We’re not. It took barely a sip before we were comfortable calling this yet another great Michter’s release. But what would really impress us is a bottle shop willing to fork one over at the $185 suggested retail price. The 2023 edition is already hard to find at under $650. Admiration comes with a cost.