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BOTM 8/17: MICHTER'S BOURBON


fishnbowljoe
This topic has been inactive for at least 365 days, and is now closed. Please feel free to start a new thread on the subject! 

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Whadaya know, I'm actually early for a change. :o I received a suggestion from a member a while back to have Michter's as BOTM. After marking a few off my own list and my list of suggestions, it's now time for Michter's! 

 

I've only had Michter's a couple of times, so I really can't say much about it. The last time I had it was late in the night at the KBF/Gazebo after having numerous pours earlier. I seem to remember it was pretty good because I sat at a picnic table with Joy Perrine and had at least a couple pours of it while we chatted until the wee hours. :D

 

IIRC, I had their US * 1 bourbon, but feel free to comment on any of their iterations. So, let's hear what y'all have to say about Michter's!

 

Cheers and happy posting!

Joe

 

 

 

 

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I've had some of their US*1 and I really enjoyed it.  About two weeks ago I had some of their Sour Mash and I and the other bourbon drinker in the group both thought that it was pretty ho hum.  It didn't taste bad it was just there.  Nothing outstanding.  We were both really disappointed. 

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Only having had one pour of (I don't know which) Michter's, I can only say I was unimpressed by that one.    That of course may have been an off-palate-day.     I am widely known for those. 

I've never felt the need for further exploration of their line after seeing the prices, and remembering the taste of that one.    Maybe I'm missing out.     Wouldn't be the first time.

Edited by Richnimrod
spelling/fat-finger typing.
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I've got a bottle of the US*1. The first time I tried it, I thought it was pretty bad, but I figured maybe my palate was having an off night or it needed to breathe a bit. I tried it again a few days later, and I still didn't think it was great, but it was drinkable. I'd say it's been in the cabinet under my bar now for at least nine months, and I haven't tried it again. Since it's the BOTM, I guess I need to break it out and give it a try again soon...maybe it will be better than I remember.


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Because I've hated their business practices and how they treated Dick Stoll, I've avoided their bourbons. You can find something wrong with just about anyone I realize so you have to pick your battles. This is the one I've chosen. That said, I did get a double blond sample of M10yr a few years back. Thought it was OK and that it tasted like heavily filtered 20yr old bourbon. (Back the, it was reputed to have much older bourbon in the blend). I didn't like it enough to pay $100+ for it though. In a moment of weakness, I bought a bottle of the Toasted Oak because someone I thought I could trust told me it was great. I hated it. Gave it 5-6 tries and eventually poured it down the drain. First time I've done that.

Now.....where they got me was with the Barrel Strength Rye. I realize this is a bourbon thread. I tried the rye at Whiskey Live last year with my skepticism in full effect and had to admit I liked it. I haven't ventured any further since then.

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The only one of the Michter's releases I have had so far is the US*1 small batch bourbon.  I like that one.  The bottle was $42 and I think that's fair for what's in the bottle.

 

I can understand that some would find it unimpressive, as the taste is on the mild side.  But, if you're in the mood for something laid back in style, this is a good choice, IMHO.

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Michters is one of the few brands I've neither purchased nor tried at all.  And I don't find myself in any rush to do either.

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14 hours ago, dcbt said:

Michters is one of the few brands I've neither purchased nor tried at all.  And I don't find myself in any rush to do either.

Yeah, I'd try a free sample if offered.  I'm not really into spending big money on NDP brands.  I recall some of the history Steve mentioned too.

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I have held of buying a bottle because I picked up a negative vibe about it on this forum.  Thanks for picking this BOTM. It's reinforcing my will to avoid it. 

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tried the sour mash while out at dinner recently, wasn't bad but there was nothing to it.

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Yep never had this one, and have no intentions of doing so after watching last week's Bourbon Pursuit with Joe Magliocco my mind was very much not changed on this on

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Did a taste test several years back when a local bar was stocking it for the first time. Working from memory and could be wrong BUT American Whiskey, Sour Mash, Small Batch Bourbon, and Rye. At the time the only decent one was the Sour Mash. Not good enough to encourage me to buy a bottle. At the end of last year I got a call about a bottle of 10yr that hadn't sold after some time and was offered at $100. I took the bait and to be honest I haven't opened it. :) Duhh

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Well, I dug into the back of my bar cabinet tonight and found the Michter's Small Batch that I bought about a year ago. So, I decided to give it another go, and it's actually better than I remember. However, at $40-$45, it's overpriced by about $15 for what it is, so I won't be a repeat buyer. There are so many other choices that are as good or better in the $25 to $35 price range. 8ba5e68b613edee224d24ac08add6eac.jpg


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I bought a bottle of the US1 for $42 at the ABC. It's a very uneventful bourbon to which I use for mixers now. I won't get another when this one is gone.

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Not nearly enough hateful posts in this thread, so let me contribute: Between their sketchy business practices and bog standard releases positioned as ultra-premium unicorn juice, I have absolutely no sympathy for this brand. Will happily avoid.

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I have a bottle of unopened Michter's bourbon somewhere in my house. I seem to have misplaced it. The search continues this weekend. I will open it if and when I find it this weekend.

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16 hours ago, Kane said:

Not nearly enough hateful posts in this thread, so let me contribute: Between their sketchy business practices and bog standard releases positioned as ultra-premium unicorn juice, I have absolutely no sympathy for this brand. Will happily avoid.

I read many times of this negative attitude towards Michter's.  I see where they are aggressive in defending their perceived brand property, and that can be a turn-off to some.  Are there other areas that are considered "sketchy business practices", etc, that support the negative attitudes I see?  

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34 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

I read many times of this negative attitude towards Michter's.  I see where they are aggressive in defending their perceived brand property, and that can be a turn-off to some.  Are there other areas that are considered "sketchy business practices", etc, that support the negative attitudes I see?  

 

Nothing that wasn't covered in these forums previously (which btw. I can't find with search now, was anything lost with the old forums?), or other non-distillers haven't done before. But, these folks took it to the next level with their aggressive PR bullshit, fictional stories of centuries-old fame, shopped pictures posted on social media, and all the lawsuits involving the poor people who have real history with the brand. That the juice itself is sub par and overpriced tops it off. Granted, they've done nothing unlawful, but they are not exactly what I'd call likable folks either, and they always manage to find a way to get on my nerves. Okay, I think this is starting to get personal :)

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I still don't see the big problem, but I admit I'm looking at it from the outside.  

"Aggressive PR"

"Fictional stories"

"Shopped Pictures"

"Lawsuits"

"Overpriced juice (i.e. Whiskey)"

 

Sounds like these could be applied to every spirits brand?

 

Im not meaning to sound like I'm picking a nit, but I hear so much negativity on this brand that I don't understand. Is there more to it than the battle over the name and legacy?

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Like I said, the short answer is no, they probably haven't committed any not-seen-before kind of sin, and I suppose their fans are not inherently bad people either :) I didn't mean to single them out, they are one of the many brands I would be content to avoid entirely as their whiskey has no saving grace imho.

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19 hours ago, Kane said:

Not nearly enough hateful posts in this thread, so let me contribute: Between their sketchy business practices and bog standard releases positioned as ultra-premium unicorn juice, I have absolutely no sympathy for this brand. Will happily avoid.

LOL. Sounds like Michters should be renamed Micturition. :-)

Edited by BourbonDude
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20 minutes ago, Kane said:

Like I said, the short answer is no, they probably haven't committed any not-seen-before kind of sin, and I suppose their fans are not inherently bad people either :) I didn't mean to single them out, they are one of the many brands I would be content to avoid entirely as their whiskey has no saving grace imho.

I'm not sure why you would bring up their "fans" here???  Are they to be singled out here for some reason?  You say you didn't mean to single Michter's out, but as your initial post quoted above by bourbondude clearly shows, that is certainly what you did in a thread solely created for discussion of the brand.  Don't back off now.  

 

If you don't like their whiskies, well I will certainly respect your opinion there.

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3 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

 

Im not meaning to sound like I'm picking a nit, but I hear so much negativity on this brand that I don't understand. Is there more to it than the battle over the name and legacy?

What did it for me is when they used the strength of their legal team (which = their much bigger bank account) to basically forbid Dick Stoll from being able to talk about his history at Michter's. They essentially erased that history. Prior to that, I disliked them for the reasons listed above, which you rightly point out are tactics used by everyone pretty much. I then disliked them for their outrageous prices on whiskey they didn't even distill. Of course everyone does that now but Michter's got there first and paved the way. (Don't blame them of course. If people are willing to pay.........) The muzzling of Dick Stoll however, that rubbed me the wrong way. We all have to choose our battles so I choose Michter's. (Except for the Barrel Strength Rye.........I get weak for that one:unsure:)

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15 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

I'm not sure why you would bring up their "fans" here???  Are they to be singled out here for some reason?  You say you didn't mean to single Michter's out, but as your initial post quoted above by bourbondude clearly shows, that is certainly what you did in a thread solely created for discussion of the brand.  Don't back off now.  

 

If you don't like their whiskies, well I will certainly respect your opinion there.

 

I suppose what I'm trying to say and my tone didn't come across as I intended in my original posts. Let's deconstruct.

 

"Not nearly enough hateful posts in this thread, so let me contribute." This was sarcasm.

 

About the fans: If somebody likes their whiskey, I think that is a good reason to drink it. I never implied that because I don't like Michter's, people who like them are doing something wrong by supporting them. I tried and didn't find the whiskey anything worthwhile, and that's why I'm comfortable ignoring them in the future.

 

On singling out: I happened to talk "passionately" about Michter's. because this is a thread about Michter's! Will do again when something I don't agree with shows up :) I still think these guys took it one step further than the competition though, because reasons posted above.

Edited by Kane
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I have the US*1 Michters Small Batch - I don't reach for it often, but did so tonight after reading through this thread. I had about 3/4 oz neat and then another short pour with a splash of water. Don't think I would recommend the water on this one as it's only 45.7% to start with and the water doesn't do it any favors. Neat, it's fine and rather tasty although it doesn't merit the low $40's price tag I see hanging off of it in the St. Louis area. If this was a $25 bottle, I would feel much better about it, but probably still wouldn't buy another one because I like a lot of other things in that same space. I've had a lot worse - and reading this thread makes me lean towards not liking it, but I did. If people would keep giving it to me, I would keep drinking it every now and then.

 

All that said, here's what I thought about it on this night....

 

Nose - fruity (maybe apricot or peach), leather, spicy rye (almost OGDish)

 

Palate - Thick\coats the tongue - light oak - not as much spice as the nose had me expecting, but it's there - just a little bit of sweet caramel, vanilla, and maybe a small cinnamon candy on the end of it.

 

Finish - more heat than I expected out of a 91 proof bottle, balanced finish with a little hint of bitters or something that reminded me of bitters right toward the end.

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