Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Rye

Rating: 15/23 N: Spicy with some alcohol burn and grassy herbs. A bit of wood from the barrel with some light brown sugar. A hint of mint and faint minerals. There's a bit of of that meaty alcohol youthfulness. It isn't excessive, but it isn't good either. This nose is toeing the line between young and decently matured. It comes across as just substantial enough to not be light and thin, but not particularly full. P: Quite spicy with a big burn, though not really harsh. Light brown sugar comes through with some cinnamon flavor and a dash of ginger and clove. This isn't very sweet and there's a clear tartness, though it isn't really fruity. I get a substantial amount of bitter herbal character, with a refreshing lightness to it that includes some faint mint and licorice at points, with the latter giving way to a stronger vanilla flavor. I definitely get the wood flavor in here, but it doesn't shout. I would have liked it (and the brown sugar) to be a bit more substantial here though. The fullness is passable, but nothing amazing. I still get some wateriness with light minerals at points. F: The more bitter side of the herbs remains, bringing out a bit more mint and licorice. There's some numbing character from the clove. Some brown sugar and cinnamon with light wood remain, but they fade faster than the more bitter flavors. - Conclusion - This has all of the components of a great rye and they're balanced pretty well with their distinct characters standing out, but it lacks soul and vibrancy. This is a very generic rye and it tastes too young and weak. Another couple of years would have produced a much better product, I imagine. Probably what's saving this from burning like all get out is it's comparatively low proof. At 50%, I'd expect this to be challenging to drink. It's so sad because this is so close to being really good, but it's just on the wrong side of that mixer divide. I bet it would be really good in a cocktail that goes light on the additional ingredients, enhancing without obscuring the spirit - perhaps a Manhattan. It's sort of the opposite in that regard of Rittenhouse, which has a really bold flavor, but lacks nuance and really needs to be mixed with some bold flavors. This beats Rittenhouse in nuance and I'd rather have this neat, but it isn't as fun and it can be difficult to taste much in it after drinking just about anything else. I'd take this over Rittenhouse, but not by much. This is in the range of Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon and Old Forester Rye, the former of which has a similarly restrained character and the latter of which is funkier with more character, but also less classy perhaps. My distinct impression is that Pikesville and Whistlepig PiggyBack are better than this, though they aren't blowing it out of the water. This is more complex than Kings County Empire Rye, but it's also less full and delicious. A fresh bottle of Sazerac is more fun, but lacks the refinement that this has. This is certainly no Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye. All signs point to this being a 15, though on the high side (if anything, I could imagine upping this to a 16). I'm a bit disappointed by that outcome, but I'm far from distraught. At $36, this only strikes me as a little overpriced. In the low $30s, I might recommend it - though before recommending it, I'd point out that this barrel is very different from the last one I tried, so batch variation is substantial.

Nose: honey, butterscotch, mint, cinnamon, rye spice, berries, hazelnut, apples. Taste: rye spice, cinnamon, mint, cherries. Solid for the price

Outstanding rye! So much depth. Great neat sipper. I couldn’t imagine ruining it by adding anything.

I tried this in a blind tasting about a week ago. My notes may be vague but I have a good idea of the general impression it left. Firstly, I was surprised to find that was a rye. I got hardly any peppery notes, infact I thought this might have been a wheater. The nose was mostly alcohol, but did have a bit if honeyed oat. It had a mildly sweet little bit if chocolate, and as I said before, very little spice. I would say this was a solid pour, but nothing really noteworthy to me. Maybe it's the barrel my bottle came from, or maybe it's me, I'm certainly no expert, but I like for my rye to taste like, you know, rye.

There are hints here of how good a Michter’s Rye can be—their upper tier ryes are some of my absolute favorites. But in this expression they are hints at best, and it’s priced $10-15 too high.