Once again, Michter’s has released another excellent whiskey with the Shenk’s sour mash whiskey. This whiskey is different from previous releases in that they have used caramel malted barley in the mash bill and then aged it in some 24 month air dried French oak barrels and some 60 month air dried American oak barrels. The results are a sweet, vanilla forward whiskey that is a pleasure to drink. Matt and I sat down and tasted it the other day and here are our tasting notes.
Shenk’s Sour Mash Whiskey 2026 Release
Proof: 91.2
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: French vanilla, caramel, orange zest, dried fruit, cardamom and oak wood.
- Matt: Sweet buttered caramel, honey, cherries, toasted peanuts and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: French vanilla, caramel, orange zest, cherries, cardamom and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and blackberry and raspberry come out in the taste. Tasted with a pecan and the caramel becomes a rich crème brûlée’ with cinnamon spice.
- Matt: Caramel, orange zest, honey, peanuts and oak wood. The dried cranberry added juniper and red pepper flakes to the taste. The pecan added baked apples with cinnamon.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak wood, orange zest and cardamom spice. The dried cranberry made the finish long with oak wood and lingering raspberry. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, caramel, cardamom spice and lingering blackberry.
- Matt: Medium long with oak wood and peanuts. The dried cranberry made the finish long with oak wood a red pepper flakes. The pecan made the finish long with oak wood, apples and pepper.
I would pair this fine whiskey with one of my favorite cigars, a Padron Serie 1926 cigar. I think the rich vanilla and chocolate in the smoke would pair well with the vanilla and caramel in the whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller