An Ever-So Slightly Sad Moment - Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey U.S.#1

Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey U.S.#1

Barrel No. H137-79
Est. 1753 Michter's American Whiskey Co.
Bardstown, Kentucky

As a single malt Scotch whisky aficionado and a Bourbon "liker," I wasn't quite sure what to make of Michter's Straight Rye at first. Rye is kind of new to me.

But after 12 - 9 months I had this bottle in the cabinet, and if it's any measure of a decent rye, I am a convert to its spirited but even-tempered subtleties.

Gradually rationing it out in ever smaller ouncelets as the bottle neared its end, I definitely did not look forward to putting this one in the recycling bin.

I'd buy this anytime. Write it up as an 8.75 on the McPhilly Scale. Comparisons with Scotch or with deeper wide flavored and sweeter bourbons are off-base. best consumed as slowly as possible. It took nearly a year or more to finish it, but taking time over Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye is the way to go. Solid 8.75 on the Philster Scale. My initial impression in the first week was that the taste was a little on the thin side and maybe I should have gotten the Michter's Bourbon instead.

But over the last 12 months of occasional samplings, I have come to savor every ounce in this distillation. The more you get to know it, the better you like it.

It has a lot of qualities I love in a whiskey. First and foremost, fire. If you can't tell you're drinking whiskey because it's too smooth for its own good — i.e. Bushmills Black Bush, Glenfiddich, and Glenlivet — then what's the point. They have their place in the gift giving universe or for an "I-can't-make-my-mind-up -which-one? context, but for serious sipping, they are unfulfilling.

Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye, is a great little Rye for a scotch drinker: oak, char, fruit, citrus, malt, smoke, leather, wood, maple syrup, brown sugar, all in a delicate mix, with enough bite to qualify as an anytime standard. Definitely an aficionado's treat, though, save for friends who can or want to appreciate.

The flavors come on fast and frenetically. But even if they all compete in the same taste and time space on the palete, they are balanced enough not to get in each other's way, leaving the sipper tantalized and mystified by this enigmatic spirit.

It's a young fresh taste — probably only a few years old — but with the maturity of a 10-12 year old scotch. According to this manufacturer who dates back to pre-revolutionary times, "it's matured to the peak of perfection in fire-charred, new American White Oak barrel. It is then further mellowed by our signature filtration." Bring it on.

My next American whiskey purchase will likely continue the trek around Bourbon territory, or into Sazerac, but I will be back to Michter's soon ... if I can find it, that is.