Over the course of the Pennsylvania distillery’s existence, it was called many things — Bomberger’s, mostly, and later Pennco — and finally, Michter’s for a very sentimental but also very savvy marketing reason. Nose: Orchard fruits, butterscotch candies, and vanilla cake greet you on the nose with a hint of wooden spice. United Distillers was only one part of the company that would eventually become Diageo in 1999. Diageo began to shed brands, inventory and physical buildings during their transformation. Brands like Old Fitzgerald and buildings like the Bernheim Distillery were sold to Heaven Hill and excess bourbon was sold off to the highest bidder.

Whereas the bourbon was an overwhelming tour de force, I felt like I had to work very hard to get much out of this rye, and not in a good way. I appreciate a subtle whiskey, and this is definitely subtle. However, there are parts where it feels as though the rye wants for something to say for itself. There are no flaws, just lulls in the conversation.So a ranking of all the bottles of Michter’s whiskey is relevant to more than just the true aficionados. It’s for the people!

This is a younger NAS rye, with a lower proof point, so one might initially wonder about its position on a list of “value” ryes, but we shouldn’t overlook that this is one of only a handful of regularly available single barrel ryes out there in the marketplace. For those who are interested in the delicate variations offered by single barrel selection, that makes Michter’s an interesting option—as does its easygoing but surprisingly complex flavor profile of earthy, fruity and spicy notes. You get some caramel candies, citrus and rye spice, but also a more savory tobacco and wood note that belies the spirit’s young age and relatively low proof point. At this proof point, it’s especially well suited to neat drinking, no ice required. You certainly have to respect what the company has achieved to date, being able now to stand up alongside some of the biggest names in the field. On the palate, we are presented with a big, immediate rush of woody spice and baking spice, along with significant tobacco and toasted oak. The rye grain is there, with classical rye spice and pepper, along with more savory tobacco, along with milk chocolate and plum-like dark stone fruit. At the same time, however, it’s really the oak that steals the whole show, contributing complex spice box and marshmallow notes, along with significant tannin that leads to a fairly dry finish to what begins as a pretty sweet entry. All of this has to be considered when the chill filtration process is selected for the newest release. And so this year’s release has a custom protocol associated with it. As you are aware the protocol includes many different variables… I’m not going to go into all of those. However, changing any variable can change the outcome for us, and what we’re really trying to do is bring forward all of that whiskey’s best characteristics that took years to develop in the barrel. I think the customization of the chill filtration process does a really beautiful job for this 10 year rye.NOSE: Rich and enticing. Butterscotch, dry wood, spicy rye notes with bits of creamy vanilla and a hint of something fruity. Big, bold and just lovely. Malt: What is the process like for selecting the liquid that ends up going into the Michter’s 10 Year Single Barrel Rye? Michter’s has a long and interesting history all on its own. It started in 1753 as Shenk’s (allegedly providing whiskey for George Washington and troops during the Revolution), then became Bomberger’s in the mid-nineteenth century. After re-opening post-prohibition, the name became Michter’s. All the while this distillery, located in Pennsylvania, was making whiskey in the Pennsylvania style – that is to say, rye whiskey. If there’s one contentious topic that whiskey geeks love to discuss, it’s value in whiskey. And as we wrote in our piece on the best pure values in the bourbon world today, value itself is always something of an indefinable concept:

Rather than batch the release, Michter’s released these at individual barrel strength, meaning there’s proof (and likely some flavor) variation among bottles. The bottle we sampled for this review was 109.4 proof, a bit higher than the average of 108.9 across the release. Michter’s Limited Release Barrel Strength Rye Whiskey 2022 (image via Charles Steele/The Whiskey Wash) Tasting Notes: Michter’s Limited Release Barrel Strength Rye Whiskey It’s one of the more interesting, “sip-so-I-can-learn-more” finishes from the Michter’s toasted barrel series. I can’t help but think the drying spice on the finish would make this an excellent rye whiskey to pair with dessert. Palate: That fruit becomes more dried and almost salted on the palate while bourbon vanilla and mild caramel sweetness mingle with cinnamon and nutmeg. The shortage goes beyond just Michter’s. The world is seeing a rye shortage that will only get worse. Quite simply: rye didn’t used to be popular. People didn’t know how good it was, and distillers created amounts to match demand. And with spirits like gin or vodka that don’t age (generally), that can easily be rectified. But with whiskey, the offset between distilling and releasing is a matter of years.Today, I’ll be pitting these pricy potables against one another in a “Battle of the 10 Year Olds,” which sounds like a grade school martial arts competition. I’ll be considering these on their own merits, and also relative to one another, bearing in mind the hefty cost for the purposes of our price-sensitive scoring bands. Michter’s has set a high bar for itself, and for the most discerning fans, this particular finished rye might just barely clear it. Palate: Beautifully restrained rye spice adds an elegant touch to all of the flavors I find here. Honestly, this tastes like it’s above 90 proof as far as intensity of the flavors. The heat is still very restrained. I can find flavors like Andes after-dinner mints and peppermint candy canes. Honey sweetness mixes with baking spices like cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Shaved ginger root goes perfectly with cherries and apricots. I was totally expecting to be let down by this sub-85 proof rye whiskey and feel like I have to apologize for being so wrong. By the time we get to a certain price point, the smaller distilleries are no longer able to compete with the big boys on the technical side of how we most often assess value, which is age statements and proof points. If they want to stay in the running, they have to do something more unique to transform that whiskey, and one of the options to do so is the newly popular process of secondary finishing in a freshly charred or toasted barrel. There are several whiskeys like this that have hit the market, but the “double oaked” quality plays particularly well in this upgraded version of Sagamore Spirit’s flagship rye, which is a blend of self-distilled Maryland spirit and MGP rye. However, the extra aging time in a second barrel really works some magic on this spirit, and what comes out is quite a bit different from what went in. It’s a reinvention of the MGP-type profile that you really have to taste for yourself, coming from a distillery that specializes in rye. As we wrote previously: Generally speaking, when you see a whiskey labeled as “blended whiskey” or just “bourbon” (instead of “straight bourbon”), it’s a blend of whiskey with neutral grain spirits to help keep costs down and profits high. This expression is labeled as “Unblended,” specifically because it’s made with whiskey only (no grain spirits added). The whiskey in these bottles was aged in barrels that are “whiskey-soaked.” Once the whiskey is just right, it’s then blended and small-batch bottled.