The Ethan Smith Blog - The Podcast!

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Look for the podcast with me, Ethan Smith, talking about Michter's Distillery.


Rich Shane, of Fermented Adventure traveled to meet me and view my collection. After a short tour, we got down to talking about Michter's and how I got interested in it. We sip a little Michter's too!




Of course, the obligatory Michter's picture. This one shows the bottling line with a young Dick Stoll in a white shirt helping the ladies bottle up some product.......

Pieces To A Puzzle.....

I was fortunate to pick up six extremely rare Michter's labels- so rare I actually did not think they existed. When Michter's whiskey was first introduced, it was in little ceramic jugs. Lou Forman found himself in a bit of quandary- his product was selling, but people weren't actually drinking the whiskey, they were just displaying the jugs. So he began bottling Michter's in glass bottles too. It is widely assumed that the square "1827" bottles were the first Michter's glass bottles. These look very similar to modern day Evan Williams or older Jim Beam and Jack Daniel's bottles. The reason for this assumption was because on Michter's very own bottle and decanter lists, that is what is first. But, they are incorrect apparently. These labels are from a run of bottles that predate the square "1827" bottles. How do I know? Take a look at the advertisements below. The jug shown next to the bottle and also the general dates of the ads predate all of the information I have on the "1827" bottles by about 5-10 years. I had assumed the glass bottle in the ads shown below was never made and was for promotional visuals only. These labels prove otherwise. Now I need to track down at least one of these bottles! Pieces to a puzzle.

30 Years Ago Today....

It was February 14th, 1990 that Dick Stoll got the call from Commonwealth Bank. Close the doors. Don't return to work tomorrow. The bond on the whiskey still wasn't paid, the government was wanting their money, and the bank was tired of running a distillery.

The lights went off, the doors were locked, and a piece of paper was taped to the front door.

"Closed until further notice."

The further notice never came. Days stretched into months, and into years. The aging whiskey was removed, the distillery was vandalized and fell into disrepair. Over time, buildings collapsed or were bulldozed.

Little remains today, exactly 30 years after that phone call.

To pay our respects to this small distillery but massive monument to American history, Jim Wolfe of Stoll & Wolfe Distillery and I took a trip to the intersection of Michters and Distillery Roads in southern Lebanon County, PA. I brought a few things "home" for a few minutes- a bottle of A. H. Hirsch distilled there in 1974, a bottle of Michter's Pot Still whiskey from 1983 in the rare 101 proof, a decanter representation of the still house, and an original Michter's apron. After some photos, Jim and I said cheers to our old friend and had a small swig of Michter's Pot Still whiskey and headed on our way back to the distillery in Lititz.

There's something peaceful and relaxing about Michter's. It's a calm place on a back road in the country. Even on a cold, blustery day in February, it was a great joy to just be there for a few minutes. The property is posted as no trespassing, so we had to observe from the road side, but it was still great to see the remaining buildings standing and in good shape.

Michter's was never a "big guy" but it certainly held a special spot in whiskey history and American history.

Some photos by Jim of me in front of the distillery today....

Some early Michter's advertising.

Going through some of my files, in search of an answer to a question from a friend, I came across some early examples of Michter's advertising. These represent the era where Lou Forman envisioned Michter's as the "soft" whiskey a refined gentleman over 40 may prefer. While there is much Pennsylvania Dutch flavor to the advertising, it was clearly also a product of it's era- when people were looking for "smooth" or "soft" whiskies. This was the era of blended whisky, Canadian whisky, gold rum, and vodka. You had to cater to the masses looking for easy sippers, versus today where people are looking for strong flavors and higher proofs in their spirits.

Below we see three early examples of simple black-and-white advertisements.

Changing gears to 60's-70's lounge culture, we have this little drink recipe book:

These are promotional advertisements for distributors:

Lastly, an awesome photo postcard of Michter's first glass bottles. These were directly styled after Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam bottles of the era:

Jug House Journal "Collector's Edition" July of 1977.

I was able to pick this up recently. A rare newsprint version of the Jug House Journal from July 1977. In it are all sorts of gems of information- Michter's history, the timeline of the famous Michter's jugs, and lots of great photos of things past, present, and future projects. In the top left photo on page 3, Elaine would later marry Master Distiller Dick Stoll. Michter's, as I have been told from former employees, was one big family and they enjoyed working together. Below are scans of the complete Jug House Journal "Collector's Edition."

My Thoughts on the Modern Day Michter's in Kentucky.

Well here's a post sure to ruffle feathers, step on fingers, and possibly (Hopefully) inspire some thought on the subject of new versus old. I'll try to keep my thoughts brief and to the point without bringing in much side story or fluff. I'd like to keep this short and readable. I owe my allegiance to no one and no one puts words in my mouth. These are my opinions and do not reflect the opinions of anyone else.

I've been asked a lot recently, with the opening of the Michter's Distillery in the historic Fort Nelson Building in Louisville, about my thoughts on the current owners of the brand. My thoughts have evolved over time- mellowed a bit over time. I never felt the need to address my thoughts on the Kentucky operation since my love and concentration of what I do lies solely with the little distillery outside Schaefferstown, PA. But here we are, and I will lend my thoughts.....


I am going to start out by saying I appreciate what Mr. Magliocco and his company have done with Michter's. The expanding popularity of American whiskey has allowed Michter's to travel further and gain more exposure than the terrible market conditions and small budget Michter's in Pennsylvania had to deal with. The modern product lineup is excellent, and the brown label Sour Mash is a great modern day representation of what once flowed from bottles and decanters made in Pennsylvania (I did a review on it a few years back and can be found on this blog.). I am glad to see the original Michter's pot stills again used to make Michter's whiskey- and on display in what looks to be a beautifully restored building. I plan on making a visit some day. I also encourage others to find Michter's whiskey on the shelf and give it a try. It's worth the price.

Now I'll try and break down a few of my thoughts individually about various aspects of Michter's that have been brought up:

-HISTORY- There are unverified rumors floating around that the folks in Kentucky, at times, have claimed some of their older bottlings are left over whiskey from PA and/or they are the same company and people from PA. I had one person tell me the distillery in Schaefferstown was once referred to as "...our old distillery..". I cannot verify any of this and all Michter's publications and interviews I have seen it is noted that they purchased the name after the PA distillery closed. I can find no verification anywhere of a claim that it was old PA whiskey either. While the wording can be a little tricky, it is clear that Mr. Magliocco and Mr. Newman "resurrected" the old brand and it is not a linear continuation. Reading the "Legacy" portion of the Michter's website, you will see what I mean. Initially, when I heard reports of claiming they are one and the same as the original Michter's, I was quite upset. But upon investigation, it seems most, if not all, reports were false and they never outright claimed to be Michter's from Schaefferstown.

-BOMBERGER'S AND SHENK'S- Here's a fun topic. Mention Bomberger's and immediately everyone brings up the topic of Heritage Spirits Distillery (Now Stoll & Wolfe Distillery) in Lititz, PA. I will preface the following comments by flat out saying I am friends with the owners of Stoll and Wolfe and the Stolls, but again, these comments are my own opinions and not theirs. I don't know the intricate details of the situation, but for those not in the know at all- Heritage Spirits released a whiskey at nearly the same time Michter's released a special bourbon. Both were called Bomberger's- in honor of the distillery in Schaefferstown. A lawsuit ensued and in the end, Heritage Spirits became Stoll & Wolfe. Stoll & Wolfe Distillery has gone on to release a wonderful line of spirits including a bourbon and rye blend, rye whiskey, bourbon whiskey, gin, and vodka. Like with Michter's, I encourage you to pick up a bottle. Did it bring me frustration to see Michter's in Kentucky to get the Bomberger's name and begin also using the Shenk's name (Another former owner of the distillery in Schaefferstown)? Yes. Of course it did. I would have loved to see the names stay local. With the hiring of Dick Stoll by Stoll & Wolfe, it would have been great to see them have at least one product linking them to the distillery in Schaefferstown. After all, they do have the distiller from that distillery now working with them. But, does it really matter? It's a name. And I think Stoll & Wolfe will do just fine, regardless of what name is on the bottle. It doesn't change who made it and the quality of what's in the bottle. And, though I have never had any myself, I understand the Bomberger's and Shenk's releases from Michter's are very good as well.

-WINNING DISTILLER OF THE YEAR- Several years back, before Michter's in Kentucky was distilling for themselves and were having whiskey distilled for them by another distiller, they were given the award of Distiller of the year. Chuck Cowdery, who is 1000x more knowledgeable in American whiskey that I am, and a prolific whiskey writer, covered the subject perfectly in a blog entry of his own a few years back: https://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-can-non-distiller-be-distiller-of.html  Michter's is now a distiller with two distilleries. Now would be a more appropriate time to bestow that award on them.

1753- Ok, here's me being a nitpicker a bit. The modern Michter's in Kentucky uses the year 1753 and talks about Michter's heritage since 1753. To me, this is false. The Michter's name was created in the 1950's by Lou Forman, by combining the names of his two sons- Michael and Peter. It was the distillery in PA that dated back to 1753, not the Michter's name. In my opinion (I know, I'm not the guy in charge...) the 1753 link died with the closure of the distillery in Schaefferstown in 1990. My only real rub there. Here's where a lot of people like to point when accusing Michter's of fudging history a bit. And they aren't entirely wrong. Potentially deceptive? Maybe. But on the other hand, if you buy your whiskey based simply on the founding date of the company, you are crazier that I am. And that's impressive.

To keep this short, I'll close here. Sure, there are things I wish were done differently and there are things I wish stayed in PA. But that's just not reality. And what is reality isn't hurting anything either. Michter's honors the name well and I hope that continues in the future. In the meantime, I'll stick to collecting stuff from the original Michter's here in PA. Sometimes it's easier and more simple to just live in the past and not worry so much about the present and future.........



Obligatory Michter's (The one in PA, of course!) stuff. An article from 1978 with a little distillery history:

From an Agricultral Operation to Worldwide Producer....

 Shown below are two old photos I have. Both are, unfortunately, undated but they tell the tale of the Bomberger's Distillery and Michter's. The first photo, I would put probably post-Civil War era. The distillery is basically still an agricultural operation- local surplus grain is converted to whiskey for the local residents. My guess would be at the time of the photo, it would have been named the Bomberger Distillery.
The second photo shows a vastly different scene- several large warehouses, a commercial distillery, and other various outbuildings. By the late 70's Michter's was available across the US, and even over in Japan at times. The distillery was now a popular tourist attraction and the decanters had become well-known. Dark times were right around the corner, unfortunately, as the distillery rapidly lost sales, encountered money issues, and finally closed in 1990.
These two pictures show what was- in two forms, as a small farm distillery, and a distillery that was shipping their whiskey all over the US and elsewhere. And yet it never lost it's quaint and historical feel. And I still don't think it has today!

You're Disqualified!!

With the recent strong feelings over whether Jack Daniel's is a bourbon or not (Read here for a great explanation: Chuck Cowdery's answer to the Jack Daniel's argument) I think it's time we take a look at Michter's.......

Let's preface this by saying I am referring to the product of the original Michter's from Schaefferstown, PA. Not the modern line of products coming from Kentucky. From the Bomberger Distillery a few miles outside of Schaefferstown came the product I so love, collect, and write about- Michter's Original Sour Mash Pot Still Whiskey *Said all in one breath*. Read it again. Notice something? A something that is also missing from the Jack Daniel's label? Keen whiskey drinkers would notice there is no "rye" or "bourbon" on the label. No, it's not because there's some devious plot to pipe Jack to PA secretly. The reason for "bourbon" not appearing on the ol' No. 7 is a different reason than why it does not appear on Michter's labels.
Let's start with what makes a bourbon a bourbon and what makes a rye a rye. I won't go into each and every detail so this doesn't get confusing for those not as acquainted with American whiskey laws and regulations. Under Title 27, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 5, Subpart C, 5.22 "The Standards of Identity" you'll find (b)(1)(i) stating the following:

“Bourbon whisky”, “rye whisky”, “wheat whisky”, “malt whisky”, or “rye malt whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored at not more than 125° proof in charred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type.

What does this mean in layman's terms? When you're making bourbon, you've got to have at least 51% corn in the mix. Rye gets at least 51% rye grain and so on. It can't come off the still at more than 160 proof and it can't go into a new charred oak (Very important!) barrel at more than 125 proof. 

And with that, Michter's Original Sour Mash Pot Still Whiskey- YOU'RE DISQUALIFIED!!

Why? Well, the creator of the Michter's brand, Mr. Lou Forman, wanted something unique. He saw the popularity of Jack Daniel's and knew of the coming of Maker's Mark- both unique whiskeys for their time. Mr. Forman wanted a slice of this market. So he didn't just want to create another bourbon, or rye, or blended whiskey. Michter's isn't a blend. It contains no neutral spirits. It's not a bourbon. It's not a rye. It's not corn whiskey either. What is it?

Whiskey.

Yep.

Just. Whiskey.

Michter's does not meet the qualifications to be called a bourbon, rye, or corn whiskey. Nor anything else. Michter's, by mashbill (Recipe), is closest to bourbon. However, it does not contain the required 51% corn to be called a bourbon. While it was distilled below 160 proof and went into its barrel around 108-115 proof, it's already been disqualified on the mashbill from becoming anything but "whiskey." But there's more. To keep costs lower, if freshly emptied barrels were available, they were filled with the newly distilled Michter's. So now we have a second disqualification. Only corn whiskey is allowed to be aged in reused barrels (Corn whiskey must contain 80% or more corn in the mashbill). Even if Michter's had the required 51% corn, it would get disqualified by being aged in reused barrels. Not all Michter's was aged in reused barrels though. Some was aged in new barrels. My bulk whiskey inventory lists from the 1980's confirm this, as did Dick Stoll (Master Distiller at Michter's from 1976-1990). But ultimately, they were all dumped together when bottling batches of Michter's.

Whiskey. That's it. The Original Sour Mash Pot Still part is just fluff. It was sour mash whiskey, that is true. And it did come out of a pot still. Original? Sure, why not. Does it make Michter's inferior? Absolutely not. It's like saying Jack Daniel's would be inferior just because it was subjected to the Lincoln County Process. Michter's was and is regarded as a quality product. And with the odd mix of barrels that made up the small batches, some bottles and decanters have a bourbon flavor, while others have a more rye-ish character. I haven't had a bottle I didn't like!

So there you have it. A unique product that was purposely disqualified from certain titles by its creator just so it could be something unique. And unique it was. The modern day Michter's in Kentucky makes a Sour Mash whiskey that is made to replicate the Original stuff, and I've tried them side-by-side and it's worthy of its name. The folks in Kentucky also make a nice lineup of other whiskies under the Michter's name that include bourbons and ryes that are worth finding and trying. Even the original Michter's in PA made some bourbons and ryes, but generally either sold the whiskey to other companies for bottling or they would bottle it under other names. The only bottling that's ever been confirmed of Michter's that wasn't just "whiskey" was a one-off bottling of straight rye whiskey that was sold exclusively through the Jug House at the distillery. The Michter's Original Sour Mash Pot Still whiskey is still out there. Not on the shelf of your liquor store, but it's out there. And it's worth the money to check it out. It does taste different. And it's good.

Before Michter's was "The Whiskey That Warmed The Revolution," it was the whiskey that "Sips Softly."

I'm sure most of my devout readers will notice I've made a few updates and changes, cleaned up a few things, and added some features to the blog. If you know me, you know I don't let things stay the same for long. Anyway, on to the next blog post.

I'm going to drop a bombshell here.

Ready?

Michter's wasn't always Michter's. I mean the whiskey. And the distillery. And pretty much everything Michter's.

Huh?

Yes, Michter's has a real interesting formation. See, at face value, it would seem that back in the 50's, Lou Forman bought a small distillery in Schaefferstown and distilled and bottled his Michter's there. Wrong. This is where it all gets interesting.

Michter's started way before Michter's.

Confused?

So was I for a long time. Then the ball of twine unraveled. There were 2 Michter's!!
How could this be? Well, first there was Michter's Pot Still Whiskey, which was bottled by a company called Michter's Jug House which was owned by Lou Forman. During this early period of Michter's Whiskey, there was no Michter's Distillery- The distillery in Schaefferstown was called Pennco and was owned by Samuel Glass and was affiliated with Continental Distilling in Philadelphia. Lou Forman was also very involved with the Pennco operations, but did not own a distillery.

This is where it gets weird.

The Michter's Whiskey name first appeared in 1955. It was sold in a 4/5qt crock and marketed as a fine Pennsylvania whiskey. But since Mr. Forman did not own a distillery and was involved with Pennco/Continental, he had to find some whiskey to fill his crocks from those operations. Pennco had just been created and had taken control of the remaining stock of Kirk's Pure Rye. Continental was sitting on mass quantities of all sorts of whiskey. So in the Michter's jugs it went! Yes, that's right. Michter's started off life as being a way for Pennco and Continental to get rid of whiskey that was sitting around! And not to say it was bad whiskey, it wasn't. It was good whiskey that had no other place to go. Dick Stoll once told me he remembers seeing Pennco and Kirk's Pure Rye barrels being dumped and put in Michter's jugs. Dave Ziegler, who worked on the bottling line at Continental recalls bottling Michter's Liberty Bells there many years ago.

Then Lou Forman had a problem. His nitfy little jugs weren't getting drank. They were being bought and used as decoration! Something had to be done. So Michter's got a quick re-invention into a suave, upscale businessman's whiskey. Soon, Michter's had billboards and ads trumpeting "If you're not 40, forget it!" and then "Michter's Sips Softly." The jugs were still made, but took a back seat to a new Jack Daniel's-esque square glass bottle with a black label. Very suave indeed. Sales expanded and more product began to be bottled in Schaefferstown because Pennco was losing its bulk whiskey contracts. Plus, Lou Forman was more involved with the Pennco side of things anyway. Then came 1975. Pennco files bankruptcy and fearing a cut off of his source of whiskey, Lou Forman and a group of local businessmen create Michter's Distillery, Inc.

And then there were 2!
As the whiskey matured, Michter's Whiskey was still Pennco stock for a few years, but new Michter's Whiskey was being distilled by Michter's Distillery, Inc. So during this period, Michter's Distillery was distilling the whiskey to be bottled and sold by Michter's Jug House. This explains the mystery of why all the Michter's products from 1955 to about 1980 say "Decanted and Jugged" or "Bottled by Michter's Jug House." That's the truth. It was bottled, but not distilled by Michter's. It was distilled by Pennco, Kirk's Pure Rye, or Continental!

And back to 1.
Around the time the distillery was sold to Ted Veru, the Michter's Jug House name disappeared and decanters and bottled began to say "Distilled and Bottled by Michter's Distillery." This again would be true- indicating that all the Pennco, Kirk's, and Continental whiskey had been used up and Michter's was actually being filled with, well, Michter's!

Confusing?

Absolutely! That's about as easily as I could explain it without going into extreme detail. And to wrap this up, here are 2 scans of a brouchure I bought off EBay from 1964 proclaiming Michter's sipping softly. Enjoy!

How I finished 2009.

Today my wife and I braved the ice and snow and traveled down to the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, DE. They have in their possession the entire business collection of Mr. Louis Forman, creator and owner of Michter's until 1979. What I found was amazing. We took some photos and scans of selected documents (I managed to screw up a bunch and only got parts of the pages.) for me to read and analyze later. But what I quickly discovered was the Mr. Forman, though he was a businessman, loved his product and really put everything he had into it. He had heavily researched not only the PA Dutch way of life, but the history of the distillery and the surrounding area. Through his research, he was able to develop Michter's into a truly unique stand out in the whiskey world. He believed his product was the best out there. To see how much time and money Mr. Forman put into his beloved product makes me appreciate Michter's even more. There will never be anything like it again. I plan on going back down again sometime to make better scans and copies of these historic documents. I can't post them up on here as I have signed a paper saying that I would not share them with anyone. If you would like more information, shoot me a message and I would be glad to share what I do know. For now, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Be safe and know your limits!

My Michter's research.

I mentioned a few minutes ago in my inaugural entry that I do and am doing research on the famous, but abandoned Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA. To get everyone up to speed and informed, I'll do a real quick history and rundown of the place. It was until it closed the oldest operating distillery in the USA, starting in 1753.

This PDF from the government should give you all a great idea about it's history into the 1970's:

http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/75001649.pdf

It is still listed as a National Historic Landmark and National Historic Place.

There's much more to it than this and I will post it up over time. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the history and current status of the distillery and as I "connect the dots" I will post up more information.

For an idea of its current state, see:

http://forgottenpa.blogspot.com/2009/11/inside-michters.html

These are a sampling of my pictures I took back in November. I have several more and am always taking more.