After a shaky patch, new bottlings will now be released for two years in a row.
Michter’s
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Roughly 15 years ago, bourbon collecting consumed too much of my life (and money). Back then, I hustled to try and buy anything of note. I always made a point to check out multiple random liquor stores whenever I found myself in a new town, hoping to score an overlooked dusty or a limited new release. That’s how I wound up buying my first bottle of Pappy Van Winkle on a Scottish Island. It’s also how I landed my first bottle of Mitcher’s 10.
And of all the various elusive bottles I’ve been fortunate enough to own and drink, that bottle Michter’s 10 remains one of my absolute favorites. to this day.
That’s not exactly a hot take. Plenty of bourbon reviewers and media outlets have also loved the labels offerings, especially the 10.
But others in the bourbon community remained wary of label, especially in the early 2000s. And rightfully so. The brand’s past and the provenance of its whiskey at that point was muddled to say the least.
The complicated backstory of Michter’s 10 Year Bourbon
While company’s roots can technically be traced as far back as 1753, the Pennsylvania distillery shuttered its doors in 1990 and remained defunct for years after.
In 1997 the brand’s trademark was bought and soon the Michter’s label appeared again on a 10 year old rye and 10 year old bourbon. The whiskey inside was purchased in bulk from other distillers.
A few years later, the brand officially became a non-distilling producer or NDP in bourbon speak, meaning the brand’s whiskey was contractually made by another undisclosed distiller to Michter’s specifications. While not uncommon in the bourbon world, especially during the spirit’s surge in popularity starting in the late 90s, the practice “carries baggage with many bourbon enthusiasts and their position is understandable” as I wrote back in 2014. I added, “it’s not unreasonable to want to know exactly what you’re paying for.”
In the case of Michter’s in particular, its NDP years actually infused positive mystic into the brand. Some of the bourbon inside Michter’s bottles during these years was supposedly sourced from Julian Van Winkle.
It took until 2015 for the brand to being operating its own Shively, KY distillery. A smaller Michter’s distillery and tourist attraction was also opened in 2019.
Since serving as one of the brands only initial two offerings back in the late 90s, Michter’s had released a 10 Year Bourbon consistently until 2022. It fortunately returned though in 2023.
Michter’s 2024 release is especially notable for several reasons
With the official release of 2024 edition of Michter’s 10, which will begin hitting shelves as quickly as this month, the premium bourbon now appears to be back on its regular release schedule.
Every release of Michter’s 10 year bourbon is collectible and hard to find, but I’ve always been surprised to see secondary prices for bottles sometimes hovering as low as $300 given how tasty this bourbon traditionally is. From a consumption POV, I’d certainly rather spend ~$1,000 on 3 or even 2 bottles of Michter’s 10 year bourbon over a single bottle of Pappy 10.
Given that Michter’s own distillery opened in 2015, the 2024 release is also likely one of the last iterations of the bottling to feature whiskey made by its undisclosed distiller, although Michter’s President Joseph Magliocco has apparently stated that no version of Michter’s 10 has contained bourbon younger than 11.5 years.
This means that the 2024 release could prove to be particularly valuable for collectors interested in owning one of the last vestiges of the premium bourbon before it becomes a fully in-house product.
If any lucky bourbon fan manages to grab one of these and a future release of the first bottle fully distilled in-house, I’ll gladly invite myself over to your eventual comparison taste test.
Michter’s