Michter's Distillery has gone through many hands, each one adding their own flare and lore to the story. The tale begins in 1753, with a mennonite farmer named John Shenk. Swiss mennonite tradition is steeped in whiskey production. Guild law limited the occupations of mennonites in Europe, so distilling, barkeeping, and other alcohol related ambitions became a growing part of their lifestyles. So when John Shenk came to Pennsylvania, his natural course of action was starting a distillery.
Pennsylvania climate is ripe for Rye, so the product was a rye product. This was common for the time and area, but the brand was celebrated. Legend says that George Washington purchased Shenk whiskey for his men in the winter at Valley Forge, Giving the company the tag line “The Whiskey that Warmed the American Revolution”
In the Mid 1800’s, the Shenk Family transferred the company to Abraham Bomberger, a direct relative. This changed the name to the Bromberger Distillery. The Bromberger family held the company until Prohibition. They had to shut down for prohibition, but they did return after prohibition at a large scale.
Times were hard for the Distillery after prohibition, and it went through multiple owners. In the 1950’s, Lou Forman Started the Michter's Brand. The name comes from combining the names of two of his children, Micheal and Peter.
In 1989, the brand came to an end, but not for long. Enter Joseph Magliocco and Dick Newman
Joseph Magliocco Went to Yale and Harvard Law, and spent his college days as one does. After college he thought starting a distillery would be a good route, but did not have a lot of knowledge on how-to. So he reached out to Dick Newman.
Dick Newman was a purple Heart Recipient in the Marine Corps. But has worked in a lot of different distilleries, including Old Granddad, Old Crow, and Old Taylor with National Distilleries. He also Was CEO of Austin Nicholes, a distiller for Wild Turkey.
When they partnered up and were deciding their next move. They found the Michter's Trademark available for purchase for the low low price of $245.
For a lot of companies, this would be the end of the story. A business school party guy found a whiskey partner and they started making booze. But michter’s is different. They set out to do whiskey to perfection. They do this in the normal ways that everyone points to when trying to convince you they do something right, finding the right ingredients, and testing out different recipes until they find the perfect combination. But they take it a step farther, doing some things that others wont due to the extra cost and a cut to profit.
First, let's start with the barrel. The barrels are dried 18 to 48 months before being used. This is a much longer drying period than normal, which adds more oak to their flavor profile. They then toast the barrels before moving on to the char level they are aiming for. This draws out the sugars in the oak wood that makes it so ideal for whiskey, creating the “red line”. This is an area where the sugars sit, and the char builds up over it. This adds a sweetness to their whiskey and shows why toasted has become the finishing process that it is today, though they do this to start, on all barrels.
Next is the juice. Standard practice says to barrel the alcohol at 125 proof. However, michters has gone lower at 103 proof. Because of this they cant add as much water at the end, creating fewer bottles per barrel. They also Heatcycle their rickhouse. This artificially creates seasons, adding more oak and color to their whiskeys. This also creates more angel share (evaporation), once again lowering the bottle count per barrel.
And lastly, the thing that caught me off guard, the thing that made me think, why are you advertising this?! They CHILL FILTER THE WHISKEY! If you have been looking down an aisle in the liquor store, you will see proudly stamped on the front of many a bottle “NON-Chill filtered”. According to michters, the standard carbon filtering strips out too much flavor, so they opt for the chill filter, and they change the temperature and time based on the expression, adding another layer of customization to their process.
Michters was the first American whiskey brand, and it’s continuing to grow and change, and excel. Michters is becoming a household name is whiskey. They don't have a wide array of products, they have a few products with many customizations, a route that is becoming more and more popular. Next time you are at the liquor store, grab a bottle and give it a try, you will be drinking a historical brand that has modernized to today's world. cheers!
