Michter’s 10-Year-Old Rye Whiskey: A Masterclass in Balance and Complexity
If you ever get to try Michter’s 25-year-old bourbon or rye expressions, or you somehow stumble across someone offering you a taste of Celebration Sour Mash, consider yourself very lucky. These are all extremely expensive but delicious American whiskeys, despite being senior citizens in what is arguably a category that shines with lower age statements. Case in point: much younger, more affordable, and consistently great Michter’s whiskeys come in the form of the distillery’s 10-year-old bourbon and rye, and the details of the 2024 release of the latter were just announced.
Just about a month ago, we covered the news of the new Michter’s 10 Year Bourbon, an annual release that whiskey fans missed in 2022 when it didn’t come out. Today the distillery revealed some of the details behind the 2024 10 Year Rye, a single-barrel expression of Kentucky-style rye (meaning the mashbill contains somewhere just above the required 51 percent rye grain as opposed to a 95 or 100 percent rye).
“For over 20 years at Michter’s, we have been hard at work trying to show that American rye can be a world-class spirit,” said Michter’s president Joseph J. Magliocco in a statement. “Along with our US*1 Rye, our 10 Year Rye has led the way for us. In fact, the first rye released by Kentucky Michter’s was our 10 Year Rye.”
Michter’s master distiller Dan McKee says that he’s come to really appreciate Kentucky-style rye as a complex version of this whiskey category, with a good amount of spice but ample flavor nuances due to the higher percentage of corn and malted barley in the mashbill. Master of maturation Andrea Wilson, who was responsible for selecting the barrels for this year’s release, concurs.
“What strikes me about the 10 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye is its elegance and complexity without being spice dominant,” she said. “The spice is beautifully integrated with hints of floral notes, fruit, honey, citrus, and chocolate that create a wonderfully balanced experience perfect for a summer evening.”
Michter’s 10 Year Rye comes in at 92.8 proof, but each bottle may vary slightly in flavor due to the fact that this is a single barrel product and not a blend of casks. The SRP is $200, which is admittedly high (and even higher on the secondary market) considering that there are decade-old rye whiskeys available from brands like Old Overholt, Templeton, Redemption, and Basil Hayden that you can find for half that much. Still, Michter’s 10 Year is a really excellent whiskey, so it’s worth the extra expense.
Weller Millennium: A New Ultra-Premium Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery is thrilled to announce Weller Millennium, a first-of-its-kind, ultra-aged whiskey from the Original Wheated Bourbon brand. This category-redefining innovation is comprised of a blend of vintage straight wheated bourbon and wheat whiskeys that were distilled near the turn of the millennium and matured at Buffalo Trace Distillery for various lengths of time.
As the third oldest operating distillery in the world, with roots dating back to 1773, Buffalo Trace Distillery (as it’s known today) has been honing its craft since Kentucky was a wild, untamed frontier and the United States was just an idea. In the centuries that followed, the site changed hands numerous times, but one thing always remained constant: it was a homeplace for the creation of authentic American whiskey.
Weller Millennium highlights the impact wheat has on the whiskey’s flavor: the softness imparted by the wheat creates a smoother, sweeter, more approachable expression. By marrying these exceptional spirits, the whiskeys further integrate and harmonize with each other, creating a cohesive, balanced final product that is greater than the sum of its parts.
“In the 1840s, William Larue Weller created a legendary legacy by being one of the first to use wheat as an ingredient, establishing Weller as the World’s Original Wheated Bourbon,” says Andrew Duncan, Global Brand Director, Buffalo Trace Distillery. “Using wheat in place of rye in the mashbill brought outstanding approachability with complexity of flavor.”
Weller Millennium will be released in limited quantities through United States and global distributor networks, which will ship to retailers, bars, and restaurants as of June 2024 at a suggested retail price of $7,500 (750ml); taxes will vary by market. It joins the Weller portfolio including Weller Special Reserve, Weller Antique 107, Weller 12-Year-Old, Weller Full Proof, Weller C.Y.P.B. (“Craft Your Perfect Bourbon”), and Weller Single Barrel; Daniel Weller Emmer Wheat, from its experimental line; and William Larue Weller, which is released each fall as part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
Weller Millennium
Michter’s 10-Year-Old Rye
Weller Millennium
