On Repeal Day, December 5th, Matt and I, accompanied by Rosemary and Becca, went down to The Bar at Fort Nelson and tasted the 2025 Release of the 20 Year Old Michter’s Bourbon. We enjoyed it quite a bit, we both were expecting a highly wood forward Bourbon but were pleasantly surprised. I credit this to Willie Pratt, the first Master Distiller at Michter’s. Willie has since passed but his influence is still at Michter’s through his ability to filter whiskey. He did not believe that “one size fits all” when it comes to filtration. He used several methods of filtration with the Michter’s brands and each brand uses a different protocol for filtering the whiskey. He once told me that he chose the filtration method by determining which method took out the unpleasant flavors, but left the desirable flavors. Andrea Wilson and Dan McKee still follow his filtration protocols with the whiskey and it really shows in this Bourbon. A 20 year old Bourbon can be extremely woody and bitter but there is no bitterness in this Bourbon. I would like to dedicate this tasting to the late Willie Pratt.
Michter’s 20 Year Old Bourbon
Proof: 114.2
Age: Twenty Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Caramel, chocolate, apricots, pears, cinnamon, nutmeg and oak wood.
- Matt: Caramel, chocolate, honey, dates, nutmeg, cinnamon and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, chocolate, apricots, pears, cinnamon, ginger and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and a citrus note comes forward and the cinnamon becomes a red hot cinnamon candy. Tasted with a pecan and a leather note comes forward and the chocolate and caramel are enhanced.
- Matt: Caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, dates and oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out notes of black cherries and cola. The pecan added citrus and peanut butter to the flavor.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak wood, cinnamon and lingering chocolate. The dried cranberry added lingering caramel. The pecan made the finish very long and dry with oak wood, ginger and lingering chocolate.
- Matt: Long with oak wood and cinnamon. The dried cranberry added black cherry and leather. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak wood and leather.
I would pair this very fine Bourbon with a Padron 1926 Series cigar. The rich vanilla and caramel in the smoke would pair well with the caramel and chocolate in the Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller