Reviewing the 2025 Shenk's Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey Batch 25E1791
- Nick Anderson
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
If you've been reading my website for any amount of time, you know I'm a fan of the Shenk's release from Michter's. While it has evolved and changed from year to year, it remains a consistently great addition to my whiskey study shelves, layering in a core identity that is completely necessary in today's complex whiskey market. At its core, it is a whiskey driven less by power and more by intent. It's the middle ground in the Michter's portfolio, not marketed towards general drinkers nor the whiskey connoisseur. It exists as an exercise in balance, texture, and grain expression, crafted with restraint and innovation.
Anchored in historical notes of caramelized sugars, cereal tones, tea-like complexity, and understated wood structure. It remains a whiskey I find myself returning to rather than craving or chasing, but when I do find myself with a glass of Shenk's, I'm rarely disappointed. Every time I bring it up in whiskey-drinking circles, it always sparks an interesting conversation. Often I am hoping the same experience is true when I am left alone with a glencairn... I want my whiskey to be conversational, because I have as much to learn from it as I have existing notions of quality, flavor, mouthfeel, and distillation practices. Every tasting is a chance to expand and calibrate your palate.
It's with this reverence for sipping thoughtfully that I approach all whiskey reviews for Amongst the Whiskey. If you're curious to see this in action, feel free to check out my prior write-ups on the 2020, 2023, and 2024 Shenk's releases.
The Michter's website states the 2025 release "is an expression made with a good amount of rye. To accentuate the rye characters, some of the fully matured whiskey was finished in toasted only French oak barrels that were not charred. This wood was sourced from the Vosges region of France before being naturally air dried and seasoned for 24 months and being toasted to our exacting specifications. With this year's release using the toasted French oak, a bolder, lingering spice emerges balanced by some dried fruit and toasty burnt sugar and toffee qualities." I love to see open air seasoning durations creeping up in terms of multiple years, rather than needing to be quantified in months. Now, ready to get this show on the road?
Company on Label:Â Michter's Distillery
Whiskey Type:Â Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages:Â Undisclosed
Proof: 91.2°
Age:Â NAS
Buy Online: Frootbat
Further identification:Â This is the 2025 release of the annual special release from Michter's distillery; the bottle under review is bottle 1429 of 2503 from batch # 25E1791
Nose:Â On first lifting the glass, I find myself in a thick stand of hardwood with just a hint of the sweet decay of fall in the air. It's notably light from the get-go, something that I hope warm hands can remedy. Slowly some linen tones come forth, bolstered later with black pepper and Carolina-style barbecue sauce. Marshmallow and hookah smoke give interesting texture to the experience. Deep inhales show off the lovely quality of wood that was used during maturation. With a gentle warming in cradled hands, wonderfully creamy aromas of vanilla frosting and angel food cake become enduring and rich in volume. Subtle supporting characteristics are walnut, brown dirt, and graham cracker. After a sip, the nose remains quite consistent with a general delicate demeanor and a slow meander back and forth between the aforementioned characteristics of barbecue and vanilla. While my needy nose searches for more depth, I have to admit the quality of the distillate here seems to be spot on. The cycle continues through to the end of the glass, finally adding in the maraschino cherry that the palate so elegantly delivered. The empty glass smells of party snap pop-its and light tiramisu.
Palate: My first sip is as light as I expected given the reticence on the early nose, though holding it in my mouth for some time allows for subtle maraschino cherry and sparkling orange cream Bubly to proliferate. While the mouthfeel is thinner than expected, it's also a bit remarkable just how easy drinking this is at 91.2 proof—it somehow drinks well below that. Another sip elevates subtle mocha tones as I find sweet braided babka cake and shaved milk chocolate. The proofiness builds with subsequent sips, as does the construction of a wider flavor wheel. Oolong tea and hints of spruce have me thinking of Northern Maine. A larger sip and swish reveals impeccable balance despite the truculent challenge to the tongue. The linger shows off simple marshmallow and toffee, impossibly mellow. The way this whiskey slides across the tongue and down through the chest can only be described as glacially slow. My last sip is consistent with the rest of the glass, layering in a burnt sugar finish to cap things off with a bit of extra sweetness.
TL;DR: Subtle, slow, and refined whiskey built for getting lost in thought
Rating:Â 3.5/5
This is a mellow whiskey for a mellow night. If you have nowhere to be, have a fire roaring in your hearth, or just have a long while to get lost in a glass—this might be the pour for you. This isn't your barrel proof, "quick punch" whiskey; it's another lesson that the thinking drinker will find well worth pondering. While I personally prefer the much louder 2023 and 2024 Shenk's releases, this 2025 bottling surely found a soft spot in my heart for its ultimate delicacy.
