Michter's Small Batch American Whiskey

[barturtle]

If it's not distilling anything then is it still a distillery? Or just a building with a still?

But seriously folks...from what I've read, their M.O. is to buy bulk whiskey from other distilleries then age, bottle and market it themselves. The only decent whiskey I've had from KBD is Rowan's Creek, which is mighty tasty stuff. Very smooth and sweet. Noah's Mill is an older version of RC, I think. Haven't tried that yet.

You haven't had any of the Willett's bottlings yet?

Other brands bottled by them:
Pure KY XO
Old Bardstown
Johnny Drum
Kentucky Pride
Kentucky Vintage
Vintage Bourbon
Vintage Rye
Corner Creek
Peter Jake
Classic Cask
Black Maple Hill
LeNell's Red Hook Rye

[Josh]

You haven't had any of the Willett's bottlings yet?

Other brands bottled by them:
Pure KY XO
Old Bardstown
Johnny Drum
Kentucky Pride
Kentucky Vintage
Vintage Bourbon
Vintage Rye
Corner Creek
Peter Jake
Classic Cask
Black Maple Hill
LeNell's Red Hook Rye

No I haven't. I've seen a number of the other brands listed, but I've been too scared or cheap to grab any. Any reccomendations, my hard shelled friend?

[barturtle]

No I haven't. I've seen a number of the other brands listed, but I've been too scared or cheap to grab any. Any reccomendations, my hard shelled friend?

As far as the Willett's Single Barrels go, I won't give a recommendation as I just haven't had all of them, but they do tend to be quite nice and distinctive bottlings.

But as to the rest, I'd recommend
Vintage Bourbon 17yo (along with the BMH 17yo)
Vintage Rye 21yo
Old Bardstown 10yo 101 (it's now an NAS, but still quite tasty)
Pure KY XO

I haven't had the Noah's or Rowan's since they dropped the age statements so I can't speak on those.

[sku]

I just did a tasting of Rowan's, Kentucky Vintage and Pure Kentucky XO. I liked Pure Kentucky XO the best and didn't care for the other two.

Pure Kentucky had the taste of an old HH product, much like Elijah Craig 18.

Kentucky Vintage was very light, possibly a wheater or a very low rye mashbill. I found it a bit soapy and lacking in complexity.

Rowan's Creek was very heavy on the rye, but it was a bit harsh, particularly for a 12 year old. (Barturtle, the Rowan's I had, which was newly purchased, did have an age statement, did they drop it recently?)

[barturtle]

Barturtle, the Rowan's I had, which was newly purchased, did have an age statement, did they drop it recently?

The age statement seems to have been removed from those bottlings in the last 6-12 months in Louisville.

[squire]

Josh, while it's true there are some Willet brands the distillery ceased making whiskey in the early 1970s so it's doubtful there is a drop of original Willet in the mingle.

[cowdery]

Barturtle has it right about Chatham and KBD's DBA. The DBA thing is Kentucky law. As far as the feds are concerned, Chatham is the producer because they are the ones selling it to distributors. You might also call them a distributor, but I prefer the term non-distiller producer (NDP) because "distributor" has such a specific legal meaning in the booze world, as the middleman between producer and retailer.

[AVB]

I did a review of Rowan's Creek and Noah's Mill if you care to read them.

[JMac72]

[quote=sku;166011]I just did a tasting of Rowan's, Kentucky Vintage and Pure Kentucky XO. I liked Pure Kentucky XO the best and didn't care for the other two.

So would you recommend this one as worth the effort and price to find it?

[boss302]

Wow... talk about a HIJACKED THREAD!!!!!




Okay, another question-- I heard a rumor that the current producer of Michter's bought the recipes along with the name, thus the current Michter's is still produced to the original mash recipes-- just with different water and different stills.

Can anyone substantiate this claim?

Oh yeah, I live 30 minutes from the original Michter's distillery in Shaefferstown, PA. It still has a lot of prestige amongst local customers 40 and over, hence my questions. Some of my co-workers and I are wondering if we should talk our beverage manager into carrying it.