This single Barrel Rye was chosen by Andrea Wilson, Master of Maturation and Pam Heilman, the Master Distiller. Michter’s single barrel whiskey is chosen with care and there are variations from barrel to barrel. They have a complex system that allows them to process multiple barrels one after another with separate tanks for each barrel. They have about a dozen tanks for this in their processing room. I found this barrel to have a little more oak than their previous barrels but as it sits, the tannic elements dissipate and the sweeter notes of the barrel come forward. Let this one sit for about 10 minutes and taste the difference.

Michter’s Single Barrel Rye Barrel 18E588 2018

Proof: 92.8

Age: 10 Years Old

Nose: Caramel apples, berries, rye grass and a touch of corn sweetness with the oak and spice in the background. It has a great nose.

Taste: Caramel apples, baking spices – ginger and nutmeg, with fine tobacco and oak tannins. As it sits, the oak tannins mellow. Tasted with a cranberry brings out pepper spice but lessens the caramel and fruit. Tasted with a pecan and the oak dominates the flavor. Drink it without food for best results.

Finish: Long and dry with lots of oak and spice. Let it sit and the oak becomes mellow and the spice dominates the finish. The cranberry made the finish very dry and oaky and the pecan even more so.

For the cigar pairing I chose an A. Fuente Reserva Don Carlos “Eye of the Shark” and it paired very well with this rye. I find this cigar has some earthy note and cedar spice that I thought would pair well with this rye. The smoke brought out the sweet caramel and ripe apple flavors while reducing the oak dryness. The rye made the smoke pleasantly earthy with some dried hay and cedar spice notes in the smoke.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller