🥃Review #7: Michter's Small Batch US.1 Bourbon Whiskey

Michter's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Resting on a gray lovesec

Michter's is a titan in the whiskey world with unicorn bottles like their 10 YR Bourbon, 10 YR Rye, and Bomberger's releases being almost impossible to find. At the other end of the spectrum, US 1 is their entry level release and relatively easy to find on shelves near me. How does it hold up?

🛒Sourced: Gifted - 45.99 at Total Wine

🧪Proof: 91.4, 45.7%

📚Background: Blended in batches from no more than 20 barrels, Michter's has produced their own distillate at a 87,000-square-foot distillery in Shively since 2014 and all members of the US 1 family (bourbon, rye, unblended American, and sour mash whiskeys) are produced there. They opened a Fort Nelson facility in 2019 where you can visit and taste in person. No age statement but it is labeled as "Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey" which is regulated to mean at least four year old juice or greater.

🥔Mash Bill: Proportions Undisclosed, only "High Quality Corn" cited, I have seen notes that it's a wheated and the flavor profile does seem to corroborate with the sweetness

👃Nose: Boozey with some traces of vanilla and strong corn, mildly sweet

😜Palate: A good bit of heat for this proof, ethanol astringency on the tongue. Sugar, corn, vanilla, and cereal notes. There is some complexity here and I would have sworn their is some citrus as well, but the booziness really overwhelms most of the fine details. With a small ice cube it was much more enjoyable but the water plus the thickness of the whiskey made for an inconsistent texture. Left a third glass out over night in the hopes that aeration turns the temps down a bit, but the additional oxidation didn't much change the experience. Though there are glimpses of complexity, I fear it's ultimately a flat or monotone pour.

🔍 Comparison: I note that it has a very lovely strong red color and looks great in the bar cart. It definitely falls short of the older Michter's releases and I prefer the Rye and Sour Mash out of the US1 family, to say nothing of the excellence in the older bottles.

🏆 Overall: 4/10 - Below Average - I am honestly a bit surprised by this. The first crack was much better to my taste but also the company was good. Out of the 10 or so bottles in my cabinet this is down there with Lone Hand, a bottom shelf offering, on my tier list and at 2.5 times the price I have to say that it's not a very good value. Pass this one in favor of Michter's other bottles.

Edit: This is one I'll likely come back to at some point. Michter's is very well regarded in the community, so I'm wondering what I'm missing here. Perhaps a matter of personal preference. I will say the most of the hype is around the barrel proof and extra aged whiskies. Age would mitigate most of my concerns with this bottle, so I can believe it.

💵Would buy again? No

⚖️Rating Scale:

1 Undrinkable

2 Bad

3 Poor

4 Below Average

5 Average

6 Above Average

7 Very Good

8 Great

9 Excellent

10 Perfect

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