Michter's Celebration Limited Edition Sour Mash

[oke&coke]

The only way I could afford a bottle of this is if I sold my Harley. And that ain't friggen happening.

[cowdery]

History shows it is possible to overprice these things. The best example is the $1,500 humidor set of A. H. Hirsch gold capsule, which can still be had eight years after its release. And that is known to be outstanding whiskey.

[michaelturtle1]

I have all the Michters sour mash I need

[michaelturtle1]

I just dont' get the need to not just over price something but to pompously overprice something.. 3K for a whiskey that you will never know the provenance of? For all we know you could be getting 1% 30 yr Heaven Hill, 1% 20 yr Heaven Hill and 98% 4 ry LDI...

[P&MLiquorsEric]

I just dont' get the need to not just over price something but to pompously overprice something.. 3K for a whiskey that you will never know the provenance of? For all we know you could be getting 1% 30 yr Heaven Hill, 1% 20 yr Heaven Hill and 98% 4 ry LDI...

[squire]

And it's a NAS whiskey. We are supposed to believe the non-distilling "distillery of the year" when they say "trust us, it has some 30 year old, some 20 year old and some other juice in it".

[HighInTheMtns]

Agreed. They are following a trend many wineries have explored. get good press (or high scores) and then Test the limits and see what idiots with too much money will pay with the next vintage.

But with the high end wines, they are very clear where the grapes came from and also the specific blend used (if it is a blend).

[squire]

Or just a couple of rock stars.

[HighInTheMtns]

Or just a couple of rock stars.

Pretty sure those guys drink Jack Black.

[squire]

Maybe just one Arab Sheik then.

[suntour]

Yeah, it's that 'other' part that got my attention. I'm reminded of a comment by the HH spokesman that some of their 30 year old barrels only had a gallon or two left in them which would spread pretty thin over 270 bottles. But, like the old Prego ad used to say, "It's in there".

:slappin:

I think I've actually seen that quote, and to paraphrase its not just that often that 30 year old stuff is nearly gone in terms of volume, its nearly gone in quality too. I distinctly remember someone at the distillery talking specifically about it like "yeah, some of its gold, but most 30 year old barrels get thrown into the bottom shelf stuff."

[squire]

Yeah, they use it to color the cheap stuff.

[michaelturtle1]

I like this 30 yr old sour mash much more, and I know where it came from!!

[HighHorse]

How many 30 year old barrels can there be?

And it's a NAS whiskey. We are supposed to believe the non-distilling "distillery of the year" when they say "trust us, it has some 30 year old, some 20 year old and some other juice in it"

Well, Eric, I guess we can believe Mr. Pratt. This singular act may be the one we reference when we talk about the day they brought ole dixie down. Unfrickinbelievable.

[ChainWhip]

Skulls... you had me at... Skulls...

=]b

Wow Mike!

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Well, Eric, I guess we can believe Mr. Pratt. This singular act may be the one we reference when we talk about the day they brought ole dixie down. Unfrickinbelievable.

True. Someone has to test the elasticity of the marketplace.

[oke&coke]

True. Someone has to test the elasticity of the marketplace.

[suntour]

It dawned on me today while walking around that between this and the Pappy Van Winkle Clothing and Lifestyle Accessory Brand™ we're just about at bourbon's "jump the shark" moment.

Thank god.

[squire]

I expect the Van Winkles will mine the vein as long as it lasts. It only takes one influential foodie/critic/tv personality to declare the supply of real Pappy is now used up and the snowball starts to roll.

[LostBottle]

It dawned on me today while walking around that between this and the Pappy Van Winkle Clothing and Lifestyle Accessory Brand™....

I thought you were joking, but I checked their site just to make sure. To my shock/horror/awe I stumbled on this

[squire]

In the end there can be only one.

[mbroo5880i]

Market tops are often marked by irrationality.

[ethangsmith]

This kind of stuff deeply concerns me, being the Michter's (Pennsylvania) guy that I am.

So let's break this down- with a little fun PA Michter's history thrown in:

The whiskey-

According to some information I was given, the Michter's Sour Mash (Note it is NOT a bourbon or rye just like the original from PA) is a blend of Rittenhouse Rye and Old Forester Bourbon. I happen to have several bottles of each and after some experimentation, I was able to replicate the Michter's Sour Mash profile perfectly. At that end, I think I can trust the information I was given. This being said and assuming the Michter's Sour Mash is Rittenhouse and Old Forester, what are the chances of 20-30 year old barrels of these products being available to a bulk whiskey producer? Did they change the mix just for this release? We've not been able to trust Michter's on several other occasions in the past, so why believe them here? It's like the boy who cried "Wolf!" With no age statement, they really don't have to be truthful I suppose...

The bottle and packaging:

Here's something that Michter's has stayed truthful on in its excessive pricing. Back in 1980, T.D. Veru, owner of Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA at the time commissioned a numbered series of 24K gold glazed decanters to commemorate Michter's becoming a National Historic Landmark. The Summer 1980 "The Michter's Collector" newsletter states that Carlos Leffler purchased the number zero decanter for $4500.00 at auction. Proceeds were donated to the Historic Schaefferstown Farm. The number one decanter was purchased by Tony Cek, owner of Tony's Mining Company Restaurant. Tony spent the night outside the Jug House in 48 degree temperatures to ensure his spot at the front of the line. Tony was the best Michter's collector around back in 1980. Tony's decanter and all consecutive decanters were sold for $500.00 each and came with a certificate of authenticity and a gold number on the bottom of the decanter. Display cases were available separately to Michter's Collectors Society members only at additional cost. When the celebration weekend was over, 893 of the 2000 decanters were sold. The remaining decanters were publicly smashed in the parking lot by Mr. Veru to "protect the value of the sold decanters." Funny thing is- I have several cases of these gold pot still decanters (empty) with numbers over 893! Oops! They were also available empty, by request, from the Jug House for several years after 1980. So much for honesty. This all being said, even the original Michter's could be shady and overprice things. So in retrospect, I guess Michter's is carrying on a tradition. Let's see if there are any buyers on this gold bottle though- times have changed, and so has the whiskey inside.......

[T Comp]

Excellent "funny thing is" story and observation Ethan. Any possible further info on the ratios of your blend?

[Ejmharris]

I thought you were joking, but I checked their site just to make sure. To my shock/horror/awe I stumbled on this

What is really shocking about the VanWinkles selling clothing and other items with their brand? I am pretty sure that 4R's, BT and Makers all do this. It is just good marketing to get people to pay for your advertising.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free