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CELEBRATION SOUR MASH 2022
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 24, 2023 – Michter’s Distillery will begin shipping its Celebration Sour Mash 2022 Edition this February 2023. Originally intended to ship after its bottling in late 2022, the release was delayed by supply chain issues involving the arrival of packaging. This will be the fourth ever Michter’s Celebration release and the first one since 2019.
Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9134951-michters-celebrates-sour-mash-release/
When Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash Whiskey was released in 2013, it marked a significant moment in United States whiskey history. For the first time, an American whiskey company was offering a rare blend for a suggested retail price of several thousand dollars. “It’s been gratifying to see how whiskeys made in the United States have garnered increased respect and recognition both at home and abroad over the past decade,” stated Michter’s President Joseph J. Magliocco.
Only 328 bottles of the Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash 2022 Edition will be released worldwide. It is 112.8 proof/56.4% alcohol by volume and will have a suggested retail price of $6,000 per bottle in the United States.
Each bottle of the Celebration Sour Mash 2022 Edition comes in a special gift box that has a drawer containing a letter signed by Michter’s Master Distiller Dan McKee. “This is the second time that I have had the honor of working with our team to produce a Michter’s Celebration release,” remarked McKee. “This edition contains whiskeys personally selected by me from seven extraordinary barrels: three of them Kentucky straight bourbon and four of them Kentucky straight rye.”
The seven whiskeys in this special blend range in age from twelve to over thirty years old. Michter’s Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson observed, “This whiskey is an exploratory journey of aged bourbons and ryes blended to perfection that leaves your palate captivated with its bold elegance. I am thrilled with this release and very proud of the Michter’s team and our efforts to produce the best American Whiskey.”
Michter’s was recently named the World’s Most Admired American Whiskey in an international poll conducted by UK-based Drinks International. Michter’s has a rich and long legacy of offering traditional American whiskeys of uncompromising quality. With each of its limited production offerings aged to peak maturity, the distiller’s highly acclaimed portfolio includes bourbon, rye and American whiskey. All Michter’s offerings are subject to allocation because demand exceeds supply.
About Michter's Distillery
Situated in a prime location on West Main Street opposite Louisville Slugger and on the same block as the Frazier Museum, Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery features the legendary pot still system from Michter’s Pennsylvania. It also has educational tours with whiskey tastings and The Bar at Fort Nelson, which features classic cocktails curated by spirits and cocktail historian David Wondrich.
Michter’s makes highly acclaimed, limited production whiskeys that are subject to allocation because demand has exceeded supply. Michter’s is renowned for its small batch bourbon, single barrel bourbon, single barrel rye, small batch American whiskey, and small batch sour mash whiskey.
In October 2021, Michter’s was named the Most Admired American Whiskey in a survey conducted in 25 countries. In January 2022, Michter’s was named the #1 Top Trending American Whiskey brand by Drinks International in their Annual Brands Report.
The Michter's Legacy
Michter’s is proud to honor a historical legacy tracing back to the founding of America’s first whiskey company in 1753.
The Early Years: Revolutionary Rye in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania
Originally known as Shenk’s and later as Bomberger’s, the whiskey company which ultimately became known as Michter’s was founded by John Shenk, a Swiss Mennonite farmer, in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania in 1753. In its earliest days, Shenk’s produced whiskey from rye grain, a favorite local crop in the Pennsylvania Blue Mountain Valley where the distillery was located.
According to Pennsylvania historical lore, commemorated by the Lebanon Valley Coin Club in 1978, this particular rye whiskey was so valued that when the Revolutionary War broke out, General George Washington visited the distillery and purchased whiskey to fortify his men as they hunkered down in their camp through the long, brutal winter at Valley Forge. Over 200 years later the Michter’s Pennsylvania management would say Michter’s was “the whiskey that warmed the American Revolution.”
In the mid-1800s, Pennsylvania Dutchman Abraham Bomberger purchased the distillery and it became known for many decades as Bomberger’s.
Midlife Crises of the Twentieth Century: From Prohibition to Bankruptcy
The passage of Prohibition in 1919 forced the distillery, along with other American spirits producers, to shut its doors to the public. Although the distillery did reopen after the repeal of Prohibition, it changed hands many times over the next few decades and frequently occupied a precarious financial position. During the 1950s, Lou Forman, one of the distillery’s then-owners, created the modern Michter’s brand name by combining portions of his sons’ names – Michael and Peter.
In 1989, with the entire American whiskey industry suffering a prolonged downturn, Michter’s then-owners declared bankruptcy and abandoned the premises, leaving its Pennsylvania operations in disrepair and the Michter’s name – seemingly – lost to history… were it not for a fortuitous connection to two whiskey lovers with an abiding admiration for the old Michter’s legacy and quality.
Restoring a Legend: Honoring Michter's Legacy with a Resurgence in Kentucy
In the 1990s, Joseph J. Magliocco and his consultant and mentor Richard “Dick” Newman teamed up to resurrect Michter’s. Magliocco, who entered the wine and spirits industry after attending Yale College and graduating from Harvard Law School, was intimately familiar with Michter’s through his college days of imbibing, bartending, and selling Michter’s.
Newman meanwhile, had followed up his service in the US Marine Corps (for which he earned a Purple Heart) with an illustrious career in the whiskey business, eventually running Old Grand-Dad, Old Crow, and Old Taylor for National Distillers before becoming President and CEO of Austin Nichols, the distiller of Wild Turkey.
Magliocco and Newman began with a simple strategy – to honor the Michter’s legacy by producing the best whiskey possible, cost be damned! After filing for the unused and abandoned Michter’s trademark, they made their first major strategic decision: to resurrect Michter’s in Kentucky, in the heart of the modern American whiskey industry, to ensure access to the best whiskey talent and resources available.
Modern-day Michter's: Offering the Greatest American Whiskey
For more information on Michter’s American Whiskey, please visit their website at www.michters.com or on their social media sites at
Source: Michter’s Distillery
Photo Credits: Michter’s Distillery
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