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Bourbon Review: Michter’s 20 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2021)

We review the 2021 release of Michter's 20-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Just a handful of barrels ever make it this far.

OVERALL RATING

9
N/A
  • Scott Bernard Nelson is a writer, actor, and whiskey reviewer.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Mash bill undisclosed, but straight bourbon aged at least 20 years in new American oak; 114.2 proof/57.1% alcohol by volume; bottle #592 of 678 tasted for this review; MSRP of $750 per 750 ml bottle, but you probably won’t find it for that price unless you win a control-state lottery. Some secondary markets were selling this for $10,000 a bottle by early 2022.
Appearance:
Dark amber. Thick legs on the side of the glass.
Nose:
Orange and apricot initially, followed by cloves, vanilla, chocolate, hazelnuts, and Graham crackers. This is deep and rich on the nose, with hints of tobacco and black pepper.
Palate:
When I go back and read my tasting notes on the 25-year-old Michter’s, I described it as almost chewing on something solid. The 20-year doesn’t have quite that same level of mouthfeel, but it is creamy and sumptuous. Pecan pie, butterscotch chips, and buttery toast come to mind first.
Finish:
It then settles onto the back part of the tongue tasting like leather and pipe smoke, before a long, honeyed finish. If “warm” could be a flavor, this whiskey has it in spades.
Comments:
In his own tasting notes, McKee found “intense notes of black cherry” in this whiskey. He’s certainly tasted a lot more of it than I have, and knows his business far better than I do. But I just didn’t find flavors reminiscent of dark cherries or prunes in here. What I did find was an excellent whiskey, very nearly the equal of its 25-year-old sibling. It’s complex, offering smells and tastes that continue to roll out at you in waves. If you have a chance to try it without taking out a second mortgage on your house, jump at it. My fishing buddies are in for a treat.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Scott Bernard Nelson

Scott Bernard Nelson is a writer, actor, and whiskey reviewer based in Portland, Oregon. While currently working in higher education, he previously dedicated 22 years to journalism, covering impactful events such as 9/11 in Manhattan, crossing into Iraq with U.S. Marines, and contributing to The Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of abuse in the Catholic Church, which inspired the film "Spotlight." Since 2019, Scott has shared his insights as a whiskey reviewer for The Whiskey Wash.  

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