My first Michter's bottle at quite a light 41.7%. I think this bottle really stands out on any shelf with the beautiful blue, red and white American themed label. In Ontario this bottle retails for $89.95 CAD (roughly $66.49 USD), which makes it one of the more expensive American whiskies around here. This is labeled an as American whisky instead of a bourbon because it is matured in re-fill bourbon casks instead of virgin charred American oak. Let's see how it fares.
Review is based on drinking neat in a glencairn glass.
Aroma - 6/10
Initially, when I first got this bottle I was getting a strong and sharp acetone note which put me off of this whisky. Once the bottle sat for a bit and started to open up more, I started getting more of the gentle nature of this dram. Light vanilla, cinnamon and spices and acetone on the nose. There is an underlying sweetness on the nose which I can't identify but if once you get past the acetone, there are some subtle sweet base notes. That being said, I'm still not a huge fan of the nose even after accepting the more gentle nature of this one.
Flavour - 14/20
Michter's is very secretive of their mashbill, which makes it fun to guess how their bottles taste. The palate followed the nose, with me not being a big fan of this one at the start and then warming up to the taste. The flavour is very gentle with a good amount of oily mouth coating ability and lighter body. On the top notes, I was getting a light vanilla, light caramel, light clove and light cinnamon. Using refill bourbon casks, I can see this as a more gentle version of a bourbon with everything toned down, even the ABV is toned down compared to most boubons. On the finish I'm getting a slight acetone note towards the end which still turns me off on this whisky a bit. Overall the finish is a little short with acetone, oak and some caramel.
On Distiller, this whisky has a pretty high score of 4 stars as of writing this and over 1.8k community reviews. I can't say that I can understand where the community reviews are coming from as I think there is a lot to be desired from the acetone finish.
Uniqueness - 6/10
Compared to other bourbons, I think has good uniqueness over most other bourbons. It's light and gentle nature are very noticeable but at the same time I don't think it gives the drinker a lot to ponder about. This is not an expression that is so unique that it needs to be on everyone's shelf.
Value - 4/10
I picked this bottle up for less than MSRP on clearance for closer to $60 CAD (44.35 USD). I think that is much more of a fair price considering the lighter and gentler nature of this bottle. Something a bit off about paying more for less flavour, complexity in American whisky.
Who is this for?
I can see this bottle being using as an introductory whisky for people who are new to drinking bourbon neat or on the rocks. However, at the expensive Ontario MSRP, overall flavour and with the acetone smell and taste, I can't really see myself recommending this one as a purchase recommendation. I would not recommend purchasing this bottle, especially not at MSRP. There are so many other bourbons and American whiskies to choose from that are much cheaper.
Final Score
Aroma: 6/10
Flavour: 14/20
Uniqueness: 6/10
Value: 4/10
Total: 30/50