SmokyBeast: Michter's

Michter's

Showing posts with label Michter's. Show all posts

May 18, 2015

Rye Battle Royale Part II

When we left off last week, we had just participated in an epic tasting battle between Willett Bonili 24-Year 94 Proof (aka Willett 24/94) and Michter's 6J-1 10-Year Rye. The Michter's eeked out a slim, but noticeable and unanimous victory. It was so incredibly rich, warm, spicy, and full-flavored that we'd put it in the top 3 ryes we've ever tasted. (Wish we had some LeNell's Red Hook Rye Barrel #1 to compare it to!!).

Just as we were wrapping up this incredibly enjoyable conclusion, our guest beasts - The Zuckman Brothers, started to break out some serious big guns. We quickly went from two bad-ass rye legends to an entire table. Here's how things looked:

Willett 24/94 & Michter's 6J-1

Black Maple Hill 23 Year Single Barrel Rye

Vintage 21 Year Rye

Hirsch 25 Year Rye

There were a couple of others too, a Rittenhouse 23 Year, and a Hirsch 22 Year. There were pigs-in-blankets with Gulden's Spicy Brown mustard. Really not a bad lineup all-in-all. Here's what they all looked like together.

Ok so let's get down to some serious business.

First impressions: After we got over the sheer ludicrousness of the task in front of us, we started to slowly taste through the table. Right away we all noticed that there was something wrong with the Hirsch 22. It must have been left out in the sun or had a bad cork or something, because this is a pretty legendary bottle and tasted straight up bad. So we're assuming this was not a fair test of Hirsch 22 and we won't comment on it further.

We remember Black Maple Hill 23 as being the first super-aged rye that we ever tried. We bought one in 2008 for $105. It was so good we went back and bought another one, this time the price was $125. Then we went back for a third, but the price had risen to $160. Too rich for our blood, we thought back then and we didn't make the purchase. Who would have thought that seven years later these bottles sell for $1,600 each!! We should have bought a case at $160...

Second impressions: We strongly suspect that the Michter's, Black Maple Hill, Willett, and Vintage 21 are all from the same source and from similar batches. They're peas in a pod, very similar, all insanely delicious, and probably difficult to tell apart if you weren't tasting them side-by-side. The Rittenhouse and the Hirsch, on the other hand, were obviously different recipes / sources. They had completely different taste profiles.

Third impressions: Within the four that we're now suspecting to be KBD-sourced juice there were some definite variations and subtleties to the taste. The Michter's was still the unanimous favorite. We took turns leaving the room and then blind tasting the Michter's against some of the other bottles, and it was still 100% chosen as the best, even just from the nose. The Rittenhouse was the sweetest, and had less of the classic rye spice to it. This pushed it higher for some and lower for others.

Ok, so for the results, here is Jared with his picks:

J-Zuck puts the Ritt up at #2!

And Brett:

B-Money Likes-A-Da-Willettz

The SmokyBeast final scoring went like this:

Michter's 6J-1 (even blind this one was just so huge and awesome!)
Willett 24/94 (This one is still such a truly awesome bottle)
Vintage 21 (Extremely close in nose/palate to the Willett, have to put them together)
Black Maple Hill 23 (Tasting this bottle after all these years was awesome, it's really amazing but just a tiny bit flat/waxy next to the others)
Rittenhouse 23 (Still one of our all-time favorites, we just had to give the others preference because they're so very RYE! If you told us the Rittenhouse was a superb bourbon we might fall for it. Not that that's a bad thing...)
Hirsch 25 (Very interesting and complex bottle here, just lacking some of the vitality and vigor of the others. The spice gets a little lost in the wood here and it's just a bit over-oaked.)

We had two other guest judges who decided to remain anonymous due to the extremely high profile of SmokyBeast and their fear of being constantly plagued by paparazzi and written up in gossip columns. But the results were very similar, the Michter's, Willett, and Vintage 21 were the statistical favorites in that order, with some mixture of BMH and Ritt in the next spots.

That's all for now. Where do you go from here?? Any requests for our next review? Let us know if any of you have tasted these bottles and share your thoughts / tasting notes in the comments.

Cheers! /SB

May 11, 2015

Rye Battle Royale - Willett 24/94 vs Michter's 6J-1

When the Zuckman brothers arrived bearing matching bulletproof briefcases handcuffed to their wrists, we knew there would be trouble. You see the Zuckmans - Brett the elder and young buck Jared, are notorious in certain circles for their very specific set of skills. These include sniping estate sales, swooping in on auctions, and adhering themselves to the rear grills of Van Winkle delivery trucks to track down "unicorn" whiskey bottles. If there's a Hirsch wax top slowly sinking in the Hudson river, you can bet that Jared is twenty feet below in a wetsuit honing in on that sucker with side-scan radar and Brett is rolling up from starboard in one of those crab boats from Deadliest Catch.

The Zuckman Brothers (artistic rendering)

"Holy Shit!"

...was how eloquently hubby put it when he turned the bottle around and looked at the label. He'd just seen a ghost. Or as close to a ghost as there is in the whiskey business.

Let's take a step back. If you're a loyal reader, you're familiar with our penchant for (read: obsession with) Michter's 10-Year Rye. The ryes released under this label from 2007 to 2011 were incredibly special, rumored to have been bottled for Michter's by Julian Van Winkle. The barrel numbers like "7B-2" and "8K-1" referred to the year of release (2007) and the batch. We found that the farther back you go, the more amazing the bottle tastes. The 7B-2 was some of the best rye we'd ever tasted and held it's weight back to back with some of our absolute favorites like Willett 25 Year. We'd heard rumors that there were even earlier releases of Michter's 10 Year Rye, from before 2007, but had never seen one in the flesh... until now.

Ninja Battle

So, in the presence of such a legend, what kind of warrior could we unleash in our corner? Luckily we'd saved the last inch of our Willett 24/94 (the victor in our recent "big willett tasting"). This beauty, from the epic 1984 distillation, has been at the top of our rye list for some time.

Let The Battle Begin!

Nose to nose:

Willett 24/94: Just from the first sip it's everything we remember it being. Rich, vanilla, spice, leather, super alive. Little explosions of too many things to note but to give it another shot: palm fronds, bananas, saddle leather, brandied cherries, Cohiba cigars (real Cubans of course, not that DR crap), more vanilla, like slicing open fresh vanilla beans. Like filling a bathtub with Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream and soaking in it.

Michter's 6J-1: "Holy shit..." is uttered again. It's not quite as bright as the Willett, but if it's possible it's even richer. All those things above, minus some of the bananas, plus a big ole dab of molasses bbq sauce. If the other one made us want to fill up a bathtub with it and soak for hours, this one makes us want to rent a houseboat and live in there, just circumnavigating the basin of the glencairn glass over and over as we drift into old age.

Taste to taste:

Willett: Ok malt whisky was our first love. Lagavulin, Talisker, those smoky peaty beauties that live in your nostrils for decades after you finish the glass. But right now, if we're talking desert island decisions, we'd have to put down scotch and bring a case of this stuff. It's just pulls you in so hard. The spice, the mouthfeel, it's super warm and mellow, not a trace of burn, but at the same time so completely alive with none of the over-woodedness or sour oak that some super aged American whiskies have. And the finish: just perfect. Crisp with spice floating across the nose and throat and a layer of honey and black licorice that slowly recedes back from the tip of the tongue.

Michters: And again, we barely would have thought it possible, but it's all those things and just a little more. An oily thickness on the tongue with less honey and more viscosity. It's a few shades darker and you can taste that color. Just a drop thicker, warmer, more subtle, maybe a tad more towards bourbon in the way that the richness builds up into a heat. Not an alcohol heat, but a sensory heat of flavors all coming together right at the top of your throat. The Michter's is the victor in this battle, if only by a hair, but it was unanimous. We all agreed there was just something decidedly Kardashian about DAT MICHTER'S that just slaughtered it. We'd still rob you blind if you were walking down the street with a Willett 24/94, but for the Michter's we'd add some kind of deadly weapon.

Damn

"Damn, Zuckman's, that was a pretty epic throw down. Guess we'll catch you on the flip side."

"You think we're done?" asks Brett.

"We're just getting warmed up," adds Jared. And some new bottles come out of those briefcases.

Oh man a Vintage 21! This is another Willett / Kentucky Bourbon Distillers bottling from the mid-2000's that's now a total collector's item. And then...

A Hirsch 25 rye! This one's been on our short list as we've never tried it before. Getting massively excited. But wait, is that... Yes, yes I think it is...

A Black Maple Hill 23! Another KBD bottle this time for Black Maple Hill, the insanely coveted BMH23 now sells on the black market for upwards of $1,600.

Well now it's an all out Rye Wrestlemania! (Ryestlemania??) This is too much to handle right now. Tune in next week for the results.

Cheers/SB

October 6, 2014

Even Alf has come back down to earth.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcasting to bring you back down to earth. We know, our faithful readers, that you enjoy our whiskey porn – almost as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. But this review is a bit of a spin on missionary in comparison to our usual illicit romps. And sometimes, that’s all you need to get you in the mood. Therefore, we bring you the latest release from our friends at Michter’s – the US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon.

This might be controversial (so I won’t speak for hubby), but I’ve never really met a Michter’s I didn’t like. Seriously. As far as I’m concerned, it’s an old standard in whiskey market – bourbon and rye, to be exact. And the Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon is no exception. For this latest release, Michter’s aged their US*1 bourbon per usual, and then transferred the brew to a unique toasted barrel for finishing, which truly adds a little charm to an already lovely specimen. Here’s the story...

Tasting Notes

Nose: Toasty, indeed! Caramel, pecan pie, apples, vanilla and a little cinnamon. A hint of woodsmoke. All of the good stuff you love about the fall.

Taste: Spicier than the nose, but pretty rich. Really enjoyable, pretty smooth, especially given the age profile. More apples on the taste compared to the nose. Also a bit of cinnamon candy, some orange and a hint of almonds.

Finish: Pretty smooth on the finish too. Baked pears, baked goods, just general all around warmth and deliciousness.

Review

I’m sorry to say I had my doubts on this one. I felt like the rebarreling of an already good thing was too much of a gimmick for my taste. But Michter’s, you proved me wrong. This is good stuff. And good timing too! I feel like it’s a perfect addition to my regular fall line up. I know it’s a limited edition, but I kind of wish it could become part of the permanent collection so I could find it whenever I visit my favorite bar. But alas…

Also, we have to admit: we didn’t have any of the original Michters US*1 Bourbon, which would have be fun to taste side by side (hint, hint, Michters).

July 29, 2014

Michter's 10-Year Rye Vertical

Zen & The Art of Light Bulb Maintenance

"How many whiskey snobs does it take to change a light bulb?"

"One hundred. One to screw in the new bulb, and ninety-nine to explain why the old one was better."

Back in October, 2013, SmokyBeast tested a hypothesis. Michter's had been releasing different batches of their 10-Year Bourbon over a number of years from 2007 to 2013. The common wisdom in the whiskey community was that the old batches put the new stuff to shame. There were even murmurings that the original barrels had been sourced from Stitzel-Weller, the legendary stomping grounds of Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr. Anyone professing to enjoy the new Michter's bourbon (for which they had just shelled out almost a hundred bucks) was quickly chastised and corrected by the nearest available whiskey snob, who would point out that they'd thrown away their money on crap that was unfit to water their flowers.

Well we happened to like the new Michter's 10-Year, as a matter of fact it was one of our current favorites. We'd never tried the mythical original releases, so we set out to obtain all the various batches and taste them blind. We would see if there was any substance to the social media vitriol, or if this was simply a case of smarmy light bulb changers. You can see the results here. In a nutshell, while there were noticeable differences in the old batches versus the new one (old was more woody, new was sweeter) we felt the high quality had carried through to the new product.

As regular readers know, we're huge rye whiskey fans. And sadly during the first two years of SmokyBeast's existence, Michter's had ceased to produce a 10-Year Rye. We heard some rumblings that a new Michter's 10-Year Rye would be coming out this summer, and lo-and-behold we were able to score a bottle. But could the new rye hold up to the old stuff as well as the bourbon did? Was there a reason that they stopped producing it for four years? Well, once more unto the breach dear friends, we have assembled all the known bottlings and are ready to get to the bottom of...

Going Vertical Part 2: Michter's 10-Year Rye!

First of all we need to thank our man in Tennessee, Eric Jorgensen, for being as obsessive about this stuff as we are and graciously packaging up samples of not one but all three old M10 Rye batches for us! It's good to have friends in high places!

2007, 2008, 2011 Michter's 10-Year Ryes being packed up for the Beast Tasting!

Off To The Races...

Our special guest for this round was Jason Laschewer, father-to-be (congrats J!!!), Brooklynite, brown liquor lover. Armed with our trusty Glencairn crystal, four ample pours of Michter's, and a good old fashioned NYC sausage & peppers pizza, we set to work.

Michter's 10-Year Rye 7B-2 (First Release, 2007)

First Release: 7B-2 (2007)

Mrs. B.: Michter's always gives me a maple syrup, earthy, sweet but mellow taste. That shiz is good!

Mr B.: Ok right out of the gate this stuff just oozes good rich rye on the nose. Brown butter, molasses, big spice, cloves, and nutmeg. This is just how we remembered it - wood, sweet, spice, it's all there. On the palate it's very smooth, warm sweet, hefty dose of char, loving this stuff!

J.L.: Burnt caramel, buttery, syrup - a heavy, rich flavor but smooth and sweet all the way.

2nd Release: 8L-1 (2008)

J.L.: Sharper on the nose. On the palate, full flavor up front which finishes flatter than the 2007. It's not as smooth or complex as the 2007, but still tasty, with bit of heat.

Mr. B.: Less sweet, more bbq, not as much butter/molasses, more spice and heat. Much sharper than the '07 on the tongue, little sour note at the end. It's still mighty good, but not quite as great as the 7.

Mrs. B.: Not as smooth as the '07. A little bit sweeter with cotton candy but much more of a burn to it. Deceiving because the color is a bit darker, but the 2007 was richer.

3rd Release: 11DR-4 (2011)

Note: We all noticed immediately that this was by far the darkest of the four.

J.L.: Sweet but subtle corn flavor up front, cherry/woody finish with a bit of undefined fruitiness. Apricot? Delicious! Leaps and bounds ahead of 2008 but a few steps behind 2007.

Mrs. B.: A combination of the two. The mellow sweetness with a little of the burn. Really good! Crisper, flavors are a little more defined, come together more. The 2007 is still my favorite with the 2011 coming in second.

Mr. B.: Deep dark and delicious on both the color and the nose. It's the richest and most complex by a wide margin. Lots of different wood flavors coming out, it's still got all the sweets and spices, and everything marries together brilliantly. On the tongue - yup, it's the sweetest and the spiciest. As it opens up I get black licorice, barbecue sauce, smoked meat... It's a close call between the '07 and the '11, but in the end, the 11 is my pony! Very rich and beautiful dram!

4th Release: 14C168 (2014)

Note: By far the lightest of the four, this stuff looks about 40% less dark and lovely than the older batches.

Mrs. B.: <shaking head> No comment.

Mr. B.: Wow you can just tell right from the nose that this is not in the same league. It has none of the richness and depth of the others, smells hot and sort of watery at the same time. On the tongue my disappointment continues, it's got an apple juice quality, like that of a much younger spirit that suffers from lack of flavor and too much heat at the same time.

J.L.: There are hints of vanilla, but it's a one-note flavor, one-trick pony if you will. There's a clear lack of complexity and definition in the flavor. Not in the same ballpark, or even the same league as the others.

Conclusions

I guess now we're the snobs yelling about the old light bulb!

We had some difference of opinion on which old bottle was most awesome. JL & Mrs. Beast both went with the 2007 as their favorite, which was the sweetest, and the purest of the three. Mr. Beast went with the 2011, the most complex one that opened up with layer after layer of flavor. All were great ryes, deep and rich and flavorful. Perhaps more than the stated 10 years of age? They stand up to much older ryes that we've tasted in the past. But there was no doubt that the 2014 completely paled in comparison to all of these original bad boys. It was totally lacking that richness, that flavor, that eye-opening rye beauty. Sad.

Battle 2014

Ok, so the new batch ain't so sweet compared to the old stuff. But, you may be thinking, "Back in 2007 I could walk out to the neighborhood liquor store and buy Pappy Van Winkle, Black Maple Hill, and basically any incredible American whiskey my little heart desired. Thanks Beasts for ruining a perfectly good new rye that I was hoping to enjoy! How, may I ask, does it hold up to anything I might be able to actually get my hands on in the present tense?"

Good question! Rather than just bashing it with old glories, we figured we'd do a fair test next to a contemporary choice. Since the new M10 Rye comes in at over $100, it actually wasn't easy to find anything to compare it to. We ended up with our big hit from a couple of weeks ago, Smooth Ambler Single Barrel 8-Year Rye. It's cask strength, so it's maybe not a totally fair comparison. But at the same time it's $50 less expensive, so who's fault is it that the Michter's ain't cask strength too??? Let's line 'em up!

J.L.: "To use a beer analogy, the Michters 10yr 2014 tastes like Miller Genuine Draft compared to Smooth Ambler's Dogfish 90 Minute IPA." The nose on the Smooth Ambler has a funky spice - almost like tumeric/indian food/curry. There's a bit of heat, bit of cherry/stone fruit, but overall it's surprisingly drinkable for 63.4%! Really no comparison here.

All our notes were similar, so we'll stick with J.L.'s awesome beer analogy. Basically the word "trounced" comes to mind.

verb past tense: trounced; past participle of: trounce - to defeat heavily in a contest.
"the Knicks trounced the Rockets on Sunday"

(Clearly THAT definition was written 20 years ago...)

How Good is Good?

Ok we're done panning the new Michter's. Next question, is the old stuff really that good? Let's take our favorite of the old Michter's and put it against one of our current favorites: Willett Family Estate 25-Year Rye.

J.L. on Michter's 2007 vs. Willett 25

"Wow the Willett is so rich, just so huge in flavor. It's a full two shades darker than the darkest of the Michters'. It's almost syrupy, so thick and the mouthfeel is amazing. However, I still think the Michter's 2007 is the best thing I've tasted tonight."

Mrs. B. on Michter's 2007 vs. Willett 25

"I was thinking in my head 'Oh this is no competition, I'm going to like the Willett.' I love me some Willett and I've never had one that I didn't take to immediately. However the Michter's surpasses it. It's smoother, it has a lot of sweetness, but not too much. Let's just say I wouldn't kick the Willett out of bed, but the Michter's '07 is insane."

Mr. B. On Michter's 2011 vs. Willett 25

"The noses could be sisters. Is it remotely possible they were from the same source? Really close, but the Willett takes the prize for amazing stand-out aroma. They both are so tasty, this is one of the most difficult head-to-heads in recent memory. At the end of the day, the Willett is just a little sour on the finish. Perhaps tasting the Michter's points out that the Willett is a bit over-wooded, maybe just a tad past it's prime. As much as I love Willett, I have to admit that the Michter's 11 just inches it out with a little more freshness and livelihood. They're both spectacular, but I agree that the old Michter's wins. But I bet that some of the Willett rye private barrels are better!"

Peanut Gallery

Alright so maybe we can't tell that joke anymore. Sometimes the old stuff really is better, a lot, better than what's on the shelf today. This may be particularly true for NDP's (non-distillery producers) who rely on sourcing whiskey from the market. Seven years ago there was no market for high quality rye, so it was probably easy to get choice picks of well aged barrels. Today, not so much. The good news is that there are a lot of good things on the horizon. Willett is making rye again, High West is doing a lot of cool things with barreling, Smooth Ambler is kicking out amazing private barrels left and right, so enjoy those old ryes if you get the chance and look forward to the new wave of American whiskey resurgence.

Thanks again to Jorgensen for the hook up and JL for guest judging. Stay tuned for more fight-to-the-death showdown battles this summer!

Cheers/SB

April 10, 2014

Whisky Live 2014 - Highlights, Low Lights, and Get Ready for an HFSM!!!!

Last night was WhiskyLive 2014 in New York City. Shout out to Mia Swatkowski and everyone at WhiskyLive for the amazing hospitality!! Highly highly recommended that if you missed it this year you make sure to sign up early for next year or check out one of their other shows around the world.

There were some awesome highlights, a few newsworthy new releases, a total FAIL, and then there was an HFSM. That stands for a "Holy F*cking Sh*t Moment". The kind of once-in-a-lifetime whiskey experience that we'll never forget.

First the Highlights

This guy was there...

That's Bernie Lubbers from Heaven Hill. Badass. And he wasn't just there to look pretty. He poured us the "Devil's Bottling" of one of our favorite whiskies, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. So named of course because of it's 66.6% ABV.

It's every bit as good as the first edition which was 134.2 proof. Big sugary bourbon flavor-bomb of vanilla nutmeg, caramel, oak, and barbecued meats with unreal smoothness at the monster proof. An unbelievable bourbon especially at the price (should retail $40-$50).

Speaking of Elijah Craig, our favorite bourbon of the night was probably this gem from Brandy Library. Look how happy Jeffrey looks just to be holding it. Do you think he'll let us have any??

One of the last remaining stock of their Elijah Craig 18-year Single Barrel (a private barrel pick they did with Heaven Hill some years back). Look at the color on that sucker:

It had everything we love about Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, but upped the ante with a maturity level that was off the charts. Think: all those flavors we mentioned above, but with the wood both more dominant and much mellower (yes those two things can happen at once). And with all the flavor components melding together more completely (sweetness, richness, spice, and wood less separate and becoming part of one complete taste).

Ardbeg had a wacky looking new release called Auriverdes (Green & Gold).

Actually just kidding, they just had a really Game of Thrones looking empty bottle chained up and weren't actually serving it. Next...

Our buddy (not to mention hands down the greatest American craft distiller) Chip Tate's beard has grown even more impressive:

As have his spirits. He's been playing with combinations of our favorite Balcones whiskies. They make a concoction called Rumble which is a sugar cane based spirit. We still hope to review Rumble Cask soon. But what we tasted last night was Chip's award winning single malt, then taken further aged in Rumble casks: Balcones Single Malt Rumble Cask Finished. It was out of this world good. The great finesse of Balcones malt with an edge of sweetness and syrup that gives it a dynamite finish. Our favorite of Chip's creations is the Brimstone Resurrection, a Frankenstein-ian creation born from a badly burned batch of corn whiskey. So to put a twist on things, Chip also shared the Single Malt Resurrection Cask. This time the finish was smoldering, completely unique, a well-balanced sweet malt ending up in a campfire smoke pit. One of the best whiskies of the night without a doubt.

New & Newsworthy

Two new and newsworthy bottles were produced:

Yes the new 2014 Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel!! So fresh out of the oven it doesn't even have a proper label yet. We loved last year's batch so much, an OBSK. This one is an 11-Year OESF. We hadn't tried that recipe yet. It's a higher corn mash bill so we expected it to be even sweeter. That wasn't the case, it's not quite as sweet and rich as the '13 SiB, but it's more delicate and has an awesome crisp wood on it combined with a very elegant perfumy spiciness. Honestly it's a little difficult to really judge something like this after tasting so many other whiskies, but we're pretty confident that it's a winner and can't wait to go hunting for a bottle when it comes out in June!

And another (LONG ANTICIPATED) new release:

2014 Michter's 10-Year Rye!!!! (queue trumpets). We've been so patient, rationing the last drops of our 7k rye to half a glass a month and then quietly sobbing ourselves to sleep. First reaction, sadly it doesn't have the dynamite vanilla nose of the old version. It's still quite tasty, but again we'll reserve final judgement for a more careful (read: sober) tasting. Still very excited that this one's on the way. Also expected in stores this summer.

FAIL!

Bomb of the night: Widow Jane "Heirloom Varietals".

We tried both the "Wapsie Valley" and the "Bloody Butcher". These slim and tall 375ml half bottles go for around $150, and they're only a year old! Could they by some magic be worth that redonkulous price tag? In a word: no. They taste like burnt popcorn and rubber cement. Sorry dude. Love the hat though.

Buzz-Worthy

Everyone's talking about The General from Compass Box.

Robin Robinson explains that it is a blend of two blends. One of them at 33 years of age and the other at 40. This was a very nice dram. We're not 100% running out to buy one at $300, but it was very cool to try. Incredibly smooth at cask strength 53%, with all kinds of good old scotch goodness like old leather, aromatic pipe smoke, and maybe a hint of sweet port wine. We would have liked a little more smoke to really put this one over the top. We went back to Robin to end the night with Peat Monster Tenth Anniversary, which is awesome, touching all the right notes of Islay smoke (there's got to be some Laphroaig in there!!).

Robin's daughter Rose was also there, pouring for Glen Grant.

We've pretty much spoiled ourselves drinking 1970's Grants last year for our birthdays, but the Five Decades is a really nice thing if you're a fan of the Grant. It's less of a sherry bomb than the older guys and runs smooth and down the middle.

Last but not least our buddy Raj from Purple Valley was in the house.

We got to try English Whisky Company Classic Malt. Both this one and their Chapter 11 Heavily Peated version are definitely worth trying. English single malt is giving scotch a run for it's money!

Thanks again to everyone at WhiskyLive. What could be better than seeing awesome friends, drinking out of this world whisky, and talking the night away.

Oh yeah, and now for that HFSM. Actually, sorry, we're out of time, you'll have to wait for tomorrow. here's a teaser...

MUHAHAHA!! /SB

March 31, 2014

Review: Michter's 20-year - A tête-à-tête of three impossible beasts!

Sometimes it's good to be a beast. Like tonight as we sit in front of three impossible glasses of bourbon...

3 Glasses, 3 Impossible Whiskies

On the left: Michter's Celebration. Coming in at over three thousand dollars a bottle, this redonkulous beast was snagged recently by Josh Feldman of Coopered Tot and ended up being donated to the beast. Last week's review left us less than amazed by this bottle, so we called in some reinforcements for a Michter's redemption...

Source? Rumored to be a mix of Michter's 20-Year Bourbon, 25-Year Rye, and some of the newer expressions, designed to mimic the historic Pennco Michter's Whiskey.

In the middle: Michter's 20-Year Bourbon Batch 13H-216. A very affordable :) five hundred dollar per bottle 20-year bourbon brought over by The Amazing Jasinski during one of the more outrageous whiskey nights in recent memory.

Source? Hotly contested. This is last year's batch of Michter's 20-Year (2013). Many think it's from the same stocks of Stitzel-Weller from which the original and now legendary Michter's 10-year bottles were sourced. Others argue it's old stock of Heaven Hill or Brown Foreman.

On the right: Michter's 10-Year Bourbon batch 7k-3. Remember that legendary original Michter's 10-Year we were just talking about? Yup, this is it. At the original retail price, these bottles went for around $70 (so you could have bought around forty of them for the current price of Celebration).

Source? Somewhat less contested, this one is widely agreed to be the first run of Michter's 10-year, sourced from an early 1990's run of Stitzel-Weller before the distillery closed.

Nose to Nose to Nose

Celebration: Again this smells like Old Forester bourbon with a touch of rye thrown in. It's good but a little sharp, some bitterness, and just not blowing out minds.

20-Year: Whoa now! Hold the phone. This is the bomb! Huge buttery brown sugar bourbon explosion. Like melted chocolate bars floating in vanilla extract topped with fresh whipped cream. Forgive our french, but this shit just makes you want to dive in and swim around in the glass for a few hours.

10-Year 7k: Interesting. Similar to the 20-Year, except a lot more subtle. Granted this one is 94.4 proof, versus the monster 114.2 barrel proof on the 20-year.

Victor: The Michter's 20-year totally dominates the nose, really not even close.

Body to Body to Body

Celebration: The same reaction as last week. It's like a decent brown-foreman whiskey crossed with a young barrel proof rye. Spice and heat and some alcohol kick.

20-Year: Again this is just everything we look for in a bourbon. We'd be pretty shocked if this wasn't Stitzel-Weller. It's just got that huge bourbon-ness that made Pappy famous. From the Old Fitzgerald that Pappy distilled back in his day, to the greatest of the pre-Buffalo Trace Van Winkles, this is what bourbon is all about.

10-Year 7k: Again it's very good, but the 20-Year has ruined us for all other whiskey forever. The old 10-year is really nice, it's round and rich and next to many other bourbons, it probably kills.

The Clear Victor

Michter's 20 is by a large margin the supreme victor in this battle. And aside from that it's among the best bourbons we've ever tried.

Bravo! /SB

January 22, 2014

Review: Michter's 10 Year Rye - A Mysterious, and Solemn Beast

Ok, first of all an apology. We're sorry. Deeply, truly sorry. Well, not that sorry. We're sorry because this is going to be another "listen to how great this bottle is, too bad you're never going to be able to taste it." We know, we've been doing a lot of those lately. Between the Black Maple Hill single barrels & WL Weller 19 last week, the Fantasy Bourbon Tournament, the AH Hirsch, and the vintage Pappy Van Winkles, we realize that we've been less than helpful and more in the realm of teasing, tantalizing, and downright rudely gloating about some of the gems we've been drinking this winter. We're doing it again aren't we? Sorry. But not that sorry. Anyway we promise that we'll be covering some much more attainable and practical whiskeys in the very near future. There are some great new releases on the shelf right now and we have some exciting reviews coming up. For now...

A friend of SmokyBeast found this bottle hiding away at a liquor store and was kind enough to trade it to us for a couple of other gems that we were willing to sacrifice. This was a favorite of ours a few years ago when it was widely available, but sadly has been discontinued and is next to impossible to find these days. If you do find one, buy it. If you find two, but us one (as if you're doing us any favors after that intro paragraph...) It's ok, you'll want to drink both anyway.

Michter's 10-Year Rye

Michter's has some haters. You see, the real Michter's was legendary hooch that was distilled in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania - the same distillery as the holy grail of bourbon: AH Hirsch Reserve. Today's Michter's brand preserves only the name, acting as an independent bottler of bourbons and ryes from unnamed sources. This could be seen as a shady move, like if Ferrari stopped making cars and started putting their hood ornaments on Hondas. Some purists just can't get past this marketing move and boycott all modern-day Michter's. We've never thought of ourselves as purists though, and if the stuff still tastes good, who really cares where it comes from anyway?

Far from it, hubby and wifey are admitted modern-day Michter's buffs. Wifey got all patriotic on US*1 Rye, and hubby went on record saying that Michter's 10-Year was his favorite everyday bourbon. (Yeah sure, we'd both drink SW Pappy and AH Hirsch all day if that was an option, but favorite everyday sauce is still a pretty strong vote). We even went as far as going back through the history of Michter's 10-Year barrels in a blind taste test to see if what they're making today measures up to past releases. So yeah, we're into it.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: No, that bottle's not tinted, and doesn't employ any of the modern-day tricks like coloring the inside of the back label black. It's a beautiful lush ruby color with highlights of hazel.

Nose: First up is deep vanilla beans, mocha, and melting butter. Very warm and inviting aroma that melds into all the things we like: oak and leather, and - characteristic of a rye - sort of a final crack to the nose of spices and grain.

Palate: The body is thick. You can tell this by just swirling the rye in the glass and watching the thick bands of liquid roll down the side. And you can tell as soon as you take a drop - it fills your mouth with flavor and viscosity with just a small sip. The sweetness is less apparent on the tongue with a spicy and firm taste: herbal/botanicals like thyme and caraway, mint and and menthol, and a hefty dose of crushed pepper.

Finish: It's right in the pocket at 93 proof with a gorgeous finish. The sweetness of the nose returns a bit for a great balance with the dominant wood and spice, preserving a spirit warmth without any raw alcohol burn.

Conclusion

Is it perfect? No. It's not the best rye we've ever had. The vintage Rittenhouse was better. Some of the very mature Willetts are superior as well. But if we had the chance to buy this at the original price of around $80, we'd buy a case right now without hesitation. It's just so drinkable. Could it in fact be older than ten years? We think that's likely. Sadly, unlike Michter's 10 Year Bourbon, which is still widely available, there was a much smaller amount of 10 Year Rye released. The bourbon has barrel numbers that go from number, letter - dash - number (i.e. 7k-3) to four numbers (2339) to the recent codes like 13G153. As far as we know, only the first codes of ryes exist. If anyone has seen a bottle of 10-year rye with a different type of code than number, letter, number, let us know. So we shed a tear because this rescued dusty treasure will probably be our last taste of an awesome former love.

But let the conclusion be such: Michter's put out a new release of this ASAP!! You've got some fans desperately running dry and jonez'ing for a new supply!

Has anyone got Michter's 10-Year rye in their liquor cabinet? Did anyone enjoy this beast back in the day when it was on the shelves? Let us know what you think.

Cheers/SB

October 23, 2013

Michter's 10-Year Bourbon Vertical

Whatever You Do, Don't Read SmokyBeast

A few months ago we published a post about Michter's 10-Year. Hubby called it his favorite bourbon. Well, it caused a stink. People flooded retail stores seeking out this overlooked treasure. It was sold out across Manhattan within days. The five boroughs were dry within a week. The entire Eastern seaboard was depleted within a month and people were starting to smuggle it in from Canada by canoe. So moving forward we must warn you, in order to spare us another bourbon drought, whatever you do, do not read SmokyBeast.

Better Increase Production!

Citing "Beastly" conditions, Michter's decided that they had better step up production. Low and behold, a couple of short months later, new batches of Michter's 10-Year Bourbon have popped up across the country. Surreptitious black marketeers are already hoarding bottles in the hopes of flipping them at extortionate rates during the next inevitable dry-up.

How Many Whiskey Snobs Does it Take To...

How many whiskey snobs does it take to change a light bulb? One hundred. One to put in the new bulb, and ninety-nine to tell you why the old one was better. So, shocker, when the new Michter's release came out it was instantly dismissed by many aficionados as an inferior product. There were rumors that the old stock had come from the mighty mothballed Stitzel-Weller distillery, which is the Land of Oz for whiskey geeks and the original birthplace of Van Winkle bourbon. Then people became very interested in which exact barrel of Michter's 10-Year they were drinking. Turns out there were three different generations of releases.

Putting Them To The Test

So as dutiful fans and bloggers we searched far and wide to find all three different batches of Michter's. We then assembled a crack team of world-renown whiskey heavy-weights (hubby, wifey, and our buddy Josh from Coopered Tot) for a scientific quadruple-blind tasting. (Ok well hubby had to pour so only two of us were blind, that's double blind right?!??). We were going to get to the bottom of Michter's even if we had to get to the bottom of a few bottles of Michter's!

Contenders (**warning, this section contains severe, unadulterated whiskey wonkery**)

Michter's Barrel 7K-3

Widely acknowledged as the first generation of Michter's 10, the original bottles had a three character code of number, letter -dash- number. This bottle "7K-3" is from that original release. Heavily rumored to actually be 18-year bourbon from Stitzel-Weller, the true source remains mysterious.

Michter's Barrel 2339

The second generation had a four number code in the two and three thousands. This barrel 2339 is from several years ago, the next batch after the number, letter -dash- number releases.

Michter's Barrel 13G153

The latest, 2013 release has a two number, letter, three number scheme. This barrel 13G153 was released this fall, 2013.

The Wild Card

Lining up three Michter's in a row would be too easy of course. And since the big hubbub was basically comparing Michter's 10 to Van Winkle, we threw in a fourth bottle: 12-Year Van Winkle Family Reserve Bourbon.

Tasting Notes

Wifey and Josh were presented with four unmarked glasses and a computer to make their tasting notes. Each pour was judged for our standard nose, body, and finish, and a 0-10 rating. The order went reverse-chronological from the most recent Michter's on the left, with the Van Winkle thrown in third.

Wifey's Results

	Michter's Third Release (13G153)	Michter's Second Release (2339)	Van Winkle 12-Year	Michter's First Release (7k-3)
Nose:	woody with a hint of caramel	rich and caramel, spice	very mild and smooth	cotton candy and sugar, very sweet
Body:	warm brown sugar with a bit of citrus	spicy; cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves	mild flavor, floral, smooth	sweet and citrus
Finish:	Floral and perfume finish	more spice	mild finish, smooth	more citrus with a hint of spice
Rating	90	85	95	90

Josh's Results

	Michter's Third Release (13G153)	Michter's Second Release (2339)	Van Winkle 12-Year	Michter's First Release (7k-3)
Nose:	Big lush sweet candied bourbon. Smells like a wheater.	Citrus, musk, and musty spice. Rye in the mash	Compote & florals (marigold) - farmy loamy must.	Most reserved. Peanuts, ham, mineral earth.
Body:	Phenolic, candied. Palate bigger than the nose.	92-100 proof. Rich brown sugar, sandwood spice.	90 proof - warm but shy. Nose better than the palate	Astringent, dry, notes of acids. Moderate strength 94-100 proof.
Finish:	Heavily oaked - with plenty of tannins and spice	Nice lingering finish on oak char and baking spice.	More citrus tang on the finish - much less char.	Medium and salty
Rating:	90	89	86	88

Hubby's Results (not blind)

	Michter's Third Release (13G153)	Michter's Second Release (2339)	Van Winkle 12-Year	Michter's First Release (7k-3)
Nose:	big brown sugar, honey, and cherries, tiny bit more menthol, licorice	tiny bit more fruit, but virtually the same as A	nose is much less sweet and less vanilla / cocoa from the first two. More farmy and dry.	more similar to C except less sharp, this one is more similar to C. I greatly prefer the nose on A and B
Body:	Heavy heavy spice. A hint of rubber and menthol.	even more in the direction of the menthol, tree bark. A little more sweetness.	cleaner, but less spice. More balanced but less of an impression.	strong, bordering on over-wooded - but also the most "pappy-ish"
Finish:	short finish, smoke comes through with celery and oak.	virtually the same finish as A.	quicker than the first two, but higher on the grains / farmy element.	the longest finish, but less balanced.
Rating:	89	91	89	90

Conclusion?

Well if you've made it this far then you can officially consider yourself a whiskey geek. What were the final results? Wifey liked the Van Winkle the best, Josh gave the newest Michter's the highest rating, and hubby liked the second release the best. In general we all found the older Michter's more similar to the Van Winkle, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was better. If you prefer dry crisp woody bourbon (Pappy 23-Year, Elijah Craig, etc) then you probably will dig the older version better. But if you like a sweet buttery and spicy bolder flavor, the new versions might well be preferable to you. In any case all of us have sampled a ton of whiskey in our day, and no one gave dramatically different grades to the different releases. I think we can safely say that the new lightbulb shines pretty bright. If you can get your hands on some of the old juice, go for it, but the new stuff is awesome as well.

Are you drinking Michter's tonight? Let us know what you think. Cheers/SmokyBeast

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