- $110
- 10 Yrs.
- Barrel No. 16A131
The Michter's 10 Year Rye is one of those highly sought after "chase" whiskeys. I've long since resigned myself to being nothing more than an opportunistic bourbon hunter, grabbing those rarities when the chance presents itself, but not going out of my way to track them down. This was one, however, that I would have been happy to chase. I love Michter's in general, I love their ryes, and I'm a big fan of aged ryes. This one seemed to me like it'd be right up my alley, and I wanted one!
I did not pay secondary for mine, nor did I even pay the retail price of $110 or so. I actually won this on a whim, having entered into a raffle believing going in that I wasn't going to win it. But, for $11/spot, I figured the $22 I spent for the chance would suffice as my "chase." So when my number came up the winner, I couldn't have been more stoked, nabbing this bottle for a fraction of the retail cost, let alone the secondary which is close to double that amount!
Upon arrival, I popped it open and was hit with a caramel heavy nose, sweet but with a light amount of that rye spice on top. I also got come scent of cloves coming off it as well. It smelled very good, but along the sweeter, fruitier lines, kind of like Baby Saz.
On my first sip I couldn't help but notice how light in texture this rye is. It's soft, even a bit watery. Yet it still had plenty of flavor and a decently long finish. While it has the traditional vanilla flavor with the cinnamon spice finish that you usually get in a rye, it also had a nice orange peel tang to it.
It also had a light peppery and brown sugar finish that seemed to stick around for quite some time despite the watery texture. That orange peel, brown sugar and cinnamon spice really made me feel like I was drinking an Old Fashioned poured right out of a bottle. It was very enjoyable in that sense, as I'm a big fan of Old Fashioned's.
All that being said, the price on this bottle, bot retail and secondary, isn't really justified. There are better, more complex and more interesting ryes on the market for half the cost or less (see Baby Saz, Pikesville and Willett to name a few). While I can't be disappointed considering what I paid, if I'm reviewing this from the perspective of one who paid full price, this rye is a bit of a let down considering the price and the high demand for this product. The watery texture and lack of complexity left me feeling that while this was very good, it just wasn't . . . special.
Grade: B/B+
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