Michter’s 25 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Is A Truly Exceptional Spirit

It is hard to age bourbon well. Between the potential harshness of the mandated-by-law new charred oak barrels and the extremes of climate in the state of Kentucky, which results in a higher loss to evaporation, finding an aged bourbon is difficult. 

It is even more special, then, when such an aged bourbon comes from Michter’s. Called the Most Admired Whiskey in the World by Drinks International for multiple years in a row, the distillery has one of the costliest and most inefficient (a good thing, in this case) production methods in American whiskey-making. There are, in fact, six points that Michter’s are proud to say sets them apart: small batch bottlings that demand high consistency; barrelling at 51.5 per cent ABV, much lower than the industry regulated maximum of 62.5 per cent, which results in a smoother, richer spirit; a custom filtration setup for each whiskey; air-dried wood, a process that takes at least 18 months and can last as long as five years, one that ultimately reduces the astringent compounds found in the wood; toasting its barrels before charring, an extra step that helps the wood release extra flavour; and heat-cycled warehouses that increase the amount of wood-spirit interaction even as it doubles the angel’s share.

‘Cost be damned’ is an official philosophy, applied throughout its entire range, from its no-age statement core releases of bourbon, rye, American, and sour mash whiskies, all the way up to the heights of its 25 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon (RM38,888). 

Michter’s calls it ‘as fine a bourbon ever released throughout [our] storied history’ and if there was ever a time to see what 25 years of wood could do to a bourbon, this would probably be it. Bottled at 57.1 per cent ABV (or 116.2 proof, they might say over there), Michter’s master of maturation, Andrea Wilson, has stated: “This release of the 25 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon is an outstanding flavour experience without the overly oaked, dusty old whiskey character. It is a wonderful journey with its transition through sweet and savoury depths, world spices, dark chocolates, fruit characters, and nut oils, almost as if you are eating through a box of fine chocolates. It is an exceptional whiskey for an exceptional achievement in the whiskey world.”