Picture this: It's 2024, and you're looking to sip the best whiskey on the shelves right now? You'll have no further to look than the diverse range of the Michter's whiskey lineup. With two special releases also adorning shelves at your local haunt, you might be wondering if these odd labels are worth shelling out for, especially considering this bottle doesn't seem to say "bourbon" on the label anywhere... What gives?
Why is Shenk's not considered a bourbon? For this Kentucky sour mash whiskey, the answer likely lies in the use of different oak than new, charred white American oak, a practice Michter's also utilizes for their US★1 American whiskey. The Michter's website states, "This offering uses rye whiskey that has aged in French oak sourced from the Vosges region of France before being naturally air dried and seasoned for 24 months and being toasted to our specifications." It could also be because of a mash bill that contains less than 51% corn, perhaps equally likely for this year's release, which features "a substantial amount of rye" and "whiskeys with unique grains in their recipes, including malted rye and caramel malt, which offer a nice creaminess to complement the rye forward herbaceous and spice qualities."
With all this experimentation, we're certainly in for something at least a little different from the same old same old in the bourbon world, so kudos are due right of the bat for Michter's being willing to try something so new with this release. Let's dive in and see what the liquid inside is all about.
Company on Label: Michter's Distillery
Whiskey Type: Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages: Undisclosed
Proof: 91.2°
Age: NAS
Further identification: This is the 2024 release of the annual special release from Michter's distillery, available at an MSRP of $110; the bottle under review is bottle 2163 of 2521 from batch # 24E2215
Nose: Rich marshmallow leads the way upon lifting the glass to my nose. Subsequent inhales offer aromas reminiscent of the beloved Choco Taco. Raspberry compote is rich, sweet, and enticing. Plenty of woody, sweet tones swirl in an effortless and cohesive cluster of intoxicating scents. Deep inhales provide intricate layers of complexity: vanilla bean, linen, and sweet gardenia remind me of the inside of the Four Roses Cox's Creek gift shop. There are some underlying sweet barbecue tones I really like here. I feel as though I'm being lured into a sip.
Coming back from a sip is comfortable and smile-inducing. Good wood dances in the nostrils. There's a slight savory undertone that really is so fun here; it reminds me of a great Italian red sauce slowly bubbling on the stovetop. Late in the glass there is an explosion of butterscotch, vanilla frosting, and angel food cake. What a lovely little evolution on a low proof pour. The empty glass smells of rich, hot chocolate, creamy, frothed whole milk, and toasted oak.
Palate: My first sip is silky, oily, thick, fatty, resinous, and sweet. I find marshmallow dominantly first, as with the nose. It's impeccably balanced right off the bat, as I find subtle cherry skins, grape jelly, toffee, and molasses. Further sips reveal a palate perfectly in tune with the nose. More of the Choco Taco characteristics swing through perfectly on the taste buds. Fans of single malts may find this mouthfeel to be well appreciated, and some chocolate tones I find often on American single malts bubble up softly. A larger sip and swish reveals caramel perfected; the linger is thick and rich like a well-buttered creamed corn. Sipping late in the glass, I find sweet plum, gingerbread, and sugary raisin building upon the prior successes of the pour. This is the kind of whiskey that gets better as you keep sipping it, so trying to compare it against bolder pours may prove to be misleading in the quality department. My last sip tastes like a culmination of the rest; the vanilla ice cream of the Choco Taco leads before a lovely bit of waffle cone swings in in delicate deliciousness. The finish is low and slow, like the careful consideration for a big barbecue spread or slowly sipping a thick cup of Turkish coffee. What a lovely dram.
TL;DR: An understated, lovely whiskey sipping experience that leans in on a thick mouthfeel
Rating: 4/5
With a robust, delicious, and complex profile, Shenk's is a low-key sleeper leading this year's release radar for whiskey enthusiasts looking to sip the best around. It handily runs circles around this year's Bomberger's release, bucking the trend from previous years that saw Bomberger's stealing the limelight. Whatever your historical experience with these bottlings is, go in with an open mind that all things in whiskey are capable of changing with time...
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