Michter’s Is About to Drop Two New Legacy Series Whiskeys for 2024
If you’re an American whiskey fan, you’re certainly familiar with the bourbon, rye, and sour mash expressions from Michter’s, not to mention the excellent 10-year-old single barrel versions of the former two. But perhaps you’re less familiar with the Legacy Series, a duo of annual whiskey releases that returns next month—and we have the details of what you can expect this year.
The Legacy Series consists of two whiskeys: Shenk’s Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey and Bomberger’s Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon. The point of this series is not to have a consistent product from year to year, according to Michter’s president Joseph J. Magliocco, but to play with variations. “While there is some continuity from year to year, our production team makes creative adjustments to each edition of these whiskeys,” he said in a statement. Shenk’s was named after the Swiss Mennonite founder of the eponymous Pennsylvania distillery, which became Bomberger’s Distillery in the 1800s, and then Michter’s in the mid-1900s before closing in 1989. Magliocco purchased the Michter’s trademark for $245 in the late ’90s and moved production to Kentucky, initially sourcing, contract distilling, and then ultimately distilling in-house at Michter’s own distillery just outside of Louisville.
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As indicated by the name, Shenk’s is not a bourbon. It likely doesn’t qualify as such due to the mashbill not being a minimum of 51 percent corn, although it could also be due to the barrels that are used to for maturation. The details are a little scarce, but master distiller Dan McKee does offer one clue to the recipe: “In the 2024 Shenk’s release, we used rye, malted rye, and for the first time caramel malt, which offers a nice creaminess to complement the whiskey’s herbaceous qualities and notes of spice.” Also, some of the barrels used to age the whiskey were made from French oak that came from the Vosges region of France which was air dried and seasoned for two years and then toasted to Michter’s specs. Shenk’s is bottled at 91.2 proof.
Bomberger’s, on the other hand, is a Kentucky straight bourbon, but a portion of malted rye was included in the mashbill for this whiskey as well. Some of the liquid in the bottle was aged in toasted and charred barrels made from chinquapin oak that was air dried for three years. “The 2024 edition of Bomberger’s continues the use of some chinquapin (Quercus muehlenbergii) oak to accentuate the dark chocolate and stewed fruit notes in this big whiskey,” said master of maturation Andrea Wilson, “that are then complemented by the spice notes offering a bold, rich, balanced complexity and a long lingering warm finish for your drinking indulgence.” Bomberger’s was bottled at a higher 108 proof.
Both whiskeys will be available starting in July, Shenk’s with an SRP of $110 and Bomberger’s with an SRP of $120. You can currently find previous years’ editions available to purchase at websites like Caskers, and the Michter’s core lineup is available at ReserveBar.
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