Tasting Notes: Michter’s 10yo Rye

This post sponsored by the Glencairn Whisky Glass

Michter’s releases this rye whiskey every couple of years. This is the first whiskey selected under the guidance of the current Master Distiller Dan McKee. It is different than the past releases selected by Willie Pratt and Pam Heilmann. That is not to say it is better or worse, just different. I find this one to be a little more fruit forward than the past releases that had more oak. I like this release.

This release is from whiskey that Michter’s had contract distilled under their specifications. The lower barrel entry proof is apparent to me in the sweeter wood notes and the deeper fruit notes. Fans of wood tannins and the drier, spicier flavors are not going to like this as much as the past releases of Pratt or Heilmann, but they will still like it. It is a well-balanced whiskey.

This whiskey was released in limited amounts and can be hard to find. Locally, it sold out very quickly in the Louisville liquor stores. If you are lucky enough to have purchased a bottle, you will be glad you did.

Michter’s 10yo Rye

Proof: 92.8

Age 10 Years Old

Nose: Rye grass, caramel with a little citrus, baking spices and oak.

Taste: Rye grass, caramel, citrus and peaches with sweet baking spices – nutmeg and cinnamon, with just the right amount of sweet oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry will enhance the rye grass and citrus notes and turn the spice a bit more into black pepper. Tasted with a pecan and there is less rye grass and more oak while it adds a note of dark chocolate.

Finish: Long, dry with oak and dark chocolate. The cranberry made it even longer with lots of oak and pepper spice, but no chocolate notes. The pecan added to the dryness with lots of oak but enhanced the dark chocolate notes.

I paired this whiskey with an A. Fuente Reserva Don Carlos “Eye of the Shark” cigar. I find the smoke to be full of vanilla, rich tobacco with a hint of dried fruit. With the rye whiskey the smoke became more caramel with a hint of pecans. The smoke made the whiskey full of citrus and chocolate. It reminded me of biting into a Christmas chocolate with an orange filling. An excellent pairing.