Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Whiskey Wednesday: Michter's Unblended American Whiskey

Michter's was the name of a Pennsylvania distillery that produced the venerable A.H. Hirsch Bourbon. The distillery closed in 1991 and the name was purchased by Chatham Imports, which uses it to market whiskey that it purchases from other distilleries which remain unnamed. Currently, the popular Michter's line includes a number of Bourbons and ryes as well as their unblended American Whiskey.

Like Early Times, Micther's Unblended American Whiskey is essentially a Bourbon that was aged in used barrels. This is the first Michter's I have tasted


Tasting

Michter's Unblended American Whiskey, 41.7% alcohol ($35-$45).

Strong maple syrup, candy and sweet brandy on the nose. Smells Canadian! The taste is candy sweet as well, with not much depth. Again, this American unblended whiskey tastes very much like a Canadian blended whisky with a sweetness that grips you by the collar and won't let go.

To sum up: Way to sweet for me.

2 comments:

sam k said...

sku, for what it's worth, Michter's closed in 1990 (my last visit there was in November 1989, and they were still open), and Michter's itself was always labeled simply as "whiskey" since it, too, used some used cooperage in each dump.

I'm just now going back through your blogs...lots of new info and FUN!

Thanks!

sku said...

Thanks for the comments sam. I don't recall where I got the closure info for Michter's, but you're right that it was definitely open after 1988. What I've been able to find on line seems to suggest that it closed in 1991. Do you think it was actually '90?