
Michter's is a brand ripe with a rich and storied history, one that I've covered many times on this website. Getting to explore the nuances from year to year and barrel to barrel for a bottling as coveted as Michter's 10 year bourbon is truly a blessing. It should be noted that this bottle was intentionally bought for the sake of this review, but it was purchased by my dear friend Jon Gjebrea, co-owner of Noble Cigars, to whom I am grateful for giving me the chance to review this particular barrel from Michter's.

Despite people typically talking about this release by way of vintage, a term that typically denotes the bottling year, as is more traditional in wine, Michter's 10 year whiskeys are single barrel products, which inherently have variation between them. To address this, Michter's offers bottling months in the letter that follows the two-digit year statement on their neck label. A represents January, and F, as we have here today, represents a June bottling date. The rest of the numbers are a unique identifier for that exact barrel. We therefore should be considerate as we discuss our experiences with single barrels, something I've long mentally fought with as a whiskey reviewer. With all those caveats out of the way, let's talk some whiskey!
Company on Label: Bottled by Michter's Distillery LLC, Louisville, Kentucky 40216
Whiskey Type: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages: Undisclosed
Proof: 94.4°
Age: 10 years
MSRP: $185
Further Identification: This is a single barrel release product, so your mileage may vary; the bottle under review came from barrel 24F2384
Nose: Immediately upon lifting the glass, I find a wave of vinegar-forward barrel funk emanating upwards. Another long inhale is surprisingly muted, leaving me feeling a bit perplexed about this pour, as I'm normally used to an immediate and distinct character from Michter's 10 year bourbon releases. This offers none of the quaint, comfortable Kentucky bourbon character I've come to expect out of an expensive bottle like this. Vague flashes of bleached linen, tannic grape skins, and earthy compost aromas are off-putting and befuddling. Deep inhales fail to register much else at all in a lingering moment of deep dismay. After a few sips, little development occurs in the glass to improve upon the fairly disappointing structure of aroma here. Touches of vanilla and toasted oak can be made out to the generously patient observer. The empty glass smells of caramelized Vidalia onions and tonka beans.
Palate: On first sip, the sad story of the nose is momentarily displaced as I find soft red berries and watered down Riesling ice wine washes across the tongue. Little evidence of proof registers with the sensory system, and the flavors are rather odd here. Vidal Blanc grape and this tart orange jam combine in an incredibly nuanced, differentiated way—in stark contrast to anything I'm used to sipping on right now. Caraway seeds and a slightly overbaked crostata tart crust come together on the short, bodiless linger. Further sips are disjointed, like the mouth has wandered off to a different part of the museum while your mind was lost in space. A moment of panic sets in that something is being missed. For this bourbon, what was missed was the mark. A nonexistent mouthfeel leaves me yearning for so much more, as gossamer-thin spindles of weak and marginalized flavors struggle to tell a cohesive story. Sipping late in the glass offers some redeeming qualities, but I'd still much prefer to move on to a better whiskey at this point. Yeugh. I really am actually struggling to enjoy this pour, unfortunately, as some of the apple cider vinegar tones begin to take hold in my mind. To me, this particular barrel seems to taste rather over-oaked, with a panic-sell decision point being made on what was clearly not going to go the distance to 20 or 25 years without puckering even the most experienced palates. My last sip offers comfort in knowing this drinking experience is over as dry raspberry sweet tart flavors entertain just the outskirts of enjoyment. The finish is short, drying, and tannic, as malbec grape and 90% cacao dark chocolate leave me shuddering.
TL;DR: A drastically different spectrum of flavor on this year's 10 year bourbon leaves me nonplussed
Rating: 2.5/5
I know Michter's knows good whiskey, but this particular bottling is just not that. I've seen others waxing poetic about the 24A and 24B barrels from this year's run of single barrel releases. With another data point coming from my experience favoring the 23A barrels of 10 year bourbon, is it safe to start assuming the earlier bottlings from each year tend to be better than the later months? There's that theory, or perhaps this is just sourced from a different distillery than last year. My taste buds were screaming Heaven Hill on the 23A, but this 24F tastes quite a bit like Old Forester distillate, which to me tends to exude a younger character. Both are interesting theories, but the bottling month variation is an interesting one to experiment with further given the nuance in how barrels continue to mature throughout the year. Let me know down in the comments: Are earlier letters, which represent the bottling month of the barrel, inherently better than later expressions from each year? My taste buds certainly think so, but I'd love to have a taste of 24A or 24B to know for sure.

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