Review: Michter’s Single Barrel Straight Rye 10 Years Old 2024
Michter’s boasts a broad rye portfolio compared to many other distilleries, with its standard US*1 offering, a barrel strength, a toasted edition, and even a hyper-rare 25-year-old expression (which we’ll probably never taste). But you may not have known that the very first rye Michter’s ever released was this bottle, the 10-year-old single barrel. Our earliest taste of this expression came not long after its debut, in 2017, and we’ve diligently kept up with each subsequent release since then.
As always, this is a single barrel rye whiskey aged at least 10 years and bottled at an easy sipping proof. In the press release announcing this latest edition, Andrea Wilson, Michter’s Master of Maturation, highlighted “its elegance and complexity without being spice dominant,” a quality that has become a calling card for this particular Michter’s expression in recent years. Let’s see how this latest example fares, shall we?
The nose is rich and elegant, similar to the impressive 2023 release but a bit less chocolaty and dark with a distinctly minty edge to it that, as advertised, hints at the grain without pronouncing it, with a lot of punchy, earthy spice. As it opens in the glass, it gets even more soothing and warm, reminiscent almost of mulled cider, with notes of cooked baking spice, stewed apple, and orange peel. The palate delivers a similar contrast to last year’s offering with top notes of fresh wintergreen and peppermint bark that give way to darker barrel char, spice cabinet, and chocolate wafers on the midpalate before a return to cool, creamy menthol on a long finish of candied ginger, eucalyptus, and butter mints. It’s a return to the more rye-forward 2022 expression, but well-balanced and flavorful with plenty of sweetness and just the right amount of rye spice.
92.8 proof.
A- / $185
Michter's Single Barrel Straight Rye 10 Years Old 2024
$185
