Alright friends, I had this really good idea that I was going to do a bourbon review each day leading up to the first day of the season. It was going to be a 68 day project. Well, I dropped the ball. I became VERY busy at work ahead of a vacation and I was out of town for about 8 days. Now I'm back, and I'm going to do my very best to make this a daily occurance once again. If I can't succeed I'll at least do a couple per week. Also, I'm reaching into my collection here for the reviews, if anyone has a whiskey they'd like to review/suggest, I'd be happy to make a post about it as well. If I don't have it, I've probably tried it, or can consult with a buddy to have an impromptu tasting!
I've been enjoying bourbon for about 7 years now and have been buying for probably about 5, and admittedly, until recently, I knew absolutely nothing about Michter's. Never tried any of there stuff before. I was offered a bottle of Michter's toasted barrel sometime last fall so I jumped on it. This will be the bottle we talk about today. This is what Michter's has to say about this bottle.
This bottle is 91.4 proof. What makes it special is, basically they take the normal Michter's bourbon that was aged in a traditional bourbon barrel, and age it for 26 days extra in second barrel that has been toasted. Basically, instead of being exposed to really high heat for a very short time, like most new American charred oak barrels, this is exposed to low heat for a very long period of time. Make sense??? You really wouldn't think 26 days changes things that much, but you would absolutely be wrong. I sure was!
This is where I take a little time out to tell you about what I do to prepare for these little posts I make. As I sit here, I actually do have a Glencairn glass with the spirit I chose for the night. I'm actually tasting while I type. I do like to search around the web and see what some of my peers (I'm sure they would absolutely not call me a peer) have to say. Tonight, I happened on a review that was just too great to pass up. He actually said the nose smells like fresh washed mushrooms and bread with some smoke. Reminded him very much of a fresh made pizza getting ready to be put into a wood fire oven. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want my whisky to remind me of pizza.
ANYWAY, on to the review:
THE NOSE: I do actually pick up on a hint of smoke, also notes of toffee and maple. Oak is hanging out in the background as well. I don't exactly know how to explain it, but I guess I would say strong. Not in a way that fries your nostrils, but strong in a way that, it's sitting in my glass 5 feet away and I can very much smell it sitting in the glass.
TASTE: This is very nice. Has some sweet notes like brown sugar or caramel. These notes don't hang around long as a lot of spice comes through. Almost peppery. Definitely does have a smoky character to it, and the oak is very present.
THE FINISH: This one lingers a bit. Long finish, with a slow burn. It's very good.
THE VERDICT: I love this bourbon. Michter's does a great job here. It has a complex nose, the flavors of the bourbon are great. It's not one that slaps you in the face, but there is some nice burn to it. I think everyone could pick something out in this one the really like. I would say at 50 dollars there are probably other bottles I would add to my collection first, but if the opportunity arises, and you want something that would give guests a unique tasting experience, go for this one. It's allocated so it'll be hard to find, and it's not something that a lot of people know about like Weller 12 or Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. I wouldn't let this one go if I got another crack at buying a bottle.
