Review #51 - Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye
Today, we're looking at a rye whisky from Michter's, their standard US 1 Single Barrel offering. This was actually the first Michter's product that we tasted, several years ago now, and therefore our introduction to the brand - will this be a bottle that will keep us coming back for more?
Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye
USA - Rye
Price Paid: USD 39 (2021)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 41 (2023)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 42.4% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 12 months; bottles at 90%, 30%, and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A decent amount of rye kick, in the form of black pepper, nutmeg, and chili powder (or maybe garlic powder); a little bit of ethanol as well, but mild in that respect. There is a savory side to this, a bit of barbecue, smoked ribs, and a barbecue sauce, or a sweet and sour sauce, which we enjoy. A few miscellaneous flavors here and there: wheat grain, yellow apples, and cedar, before the sweetness kicks in, coming from granular brown sugar and caramel. In terms of oak, it isn't harsh, and starts out mellow, though it grows in prominence with time.
Palate: Sweet and spicy notes grow on the palate: baking spices, black pepper, caramel apple, and some lemon or orange fruit are present. Quite oaky now, and there is some heat coming through, despite a medium-thin mouthfeel. The barbecue from the nose is here but quite muted, and we get little hints of chocolate and white wine later on; some nice dynamic flavors, but might need a bump in ABV to showcase them effectively.
Finish: The length of the finish is medium-short, and while still a little hot, there is a nice dry wood note to go along with it. Plenty of sweet notes here, too, like maple, chocolate, and some thinner molasses; still, the flavors trail off a little more quickly than we would like.
Final Note: This one split us a little bit; that said, the longer we had it, and the more time the bottle was given to open up and air out, the more we enjoyed it. A pretty solid entry level rye in the end, with some nice spice and barbecue notes, which will vary by the barrel, of course. For us, the biggest item to address would be the ABV - there could be some killer bottles of this whisky given a bit more strength, which would increase the concentration of the flavors. The price still makes this a decent buy, though, and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it around the $35 to $40 mark.
Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.64
