Some Michter's photography.......

I was contacted by Luke who wanted to display his photographs of Michter's Distillery on the blog. After looking through his photos, I will put a link to his website here so you can all see not only his great photos of the distillery, but also his other works. I especially like his Michter's set because it sets a certain mood. Dusk has set on the once busy distillery and it is now being slowly demolished. His photos almost seem to capture not only the last of the sad distillery, but also the overall mood of those of us that love the little distillery. So without further introduction:

Luke Walmer Photography- Michter's Set

And To Complement My Michter's Barrels.....

.....I got a Continental Distilling barrel! A big thanks to Dave Z. and the guys at the local landscaping business for getting me one! Here are 2 pictures of it as received. I'm going to fully recondition the barrel so it is preserved.

Heaven Hill's Corn Whiskies- A Corny Review!

Heaven Hill is one of the last major distillers to produce corn whiskey. What was once the predominant "moonshine" whiskey, corn whiskey has all but disappeared in the US. As whiskey is once again finding an audience, drinkers are looking for all sorts of variants to try. Corn whiskey is quite different than traditional American whiskies as the rules of aging are a bit more lax. While Rye and Bourbon must be aged in new, charred white oak barrels, Corn Whiskey can be aged not only in the new, charred white oak barrels, but also used Bourbon or Rye barrels, or un-charred barrels. It is also generally not aged nearly as long- usually only a few months up to 2 years. So I got my hands on some variants of the Heaven Hill Corn Whiskies. The only thing that really varies here is proof and age. 2 are bottled by McCormick Distilling in Weston, MO, while the other is bottled by Heaven Hill.

Platte Valle Corn Whiskey:
-$25 for a 750ML ceramic decanter via PLCB State Store.
-80 Proof, 30 months old and bottled by McCormick Distilling
The coolest thing about this whiskey is the nifty decanter it comes in. Very cool and reminiscent of a whiskey crock from the 1800's. The whiskey itself is almost colorless. It has a slight yellow tint, as if someone put a drop of yellow food coloring in your shot glass. It has very little nose. What is there smells of alcohol, sugar, and a hint of fresh corn. It's very earthy and has no indications of oak smells from the barrel. It's light and sweet on the tongue with almost no depth in the flavor. It's just plain smooth. The corn blasts through and once again, there is no evidence of oak notes. Once it's down the hatch, there is really no finish. It's gone! My assessment: A very unique product that is easy to drink and would mix really well in place of gut-rot Vodka. Mixing this with a Bourbon or Rye to lighten the flavor wouldn't be out of the question and may yield some interesting results. An overall good product.

Hirsch Selection Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Corn Whiskey
-$37 for a 750ML bottle from WineSource in Baltimore, MD
-90 Proof with no age statement. Aged in used barrels.
This is a dead-ringer for the Platte Valley and was even bottled by McCormick also. The difference is the proof and barrel selection. These barrels were specifically chosen by Hirsch Distillers for bottling, so you're getting a little better pick (Hopefully!). The nose is the same, but more intense. Almost like someone turned the volume from 5 to 8. With it comes an increase in flavor and alcohol bite. With being aged so little, it's very "moonshine-esque." It's getting high enough in proof that you can get a bit more flavor on the tongue and the sweetness is much nicer. The hardest part to get down my throat is the price tag! Ouch! A small hint of the barrel aging is present, but the whiskey is still a very pale yellow color. Once down the hatch, the sweetness lingers for seconds and then it too is gone. There's a certain sweetness and flavor to this one that is not in the Platte Valley. Overall, a better whiskey than the Platte Valley, but the price ruins it. I keep it around for its unique character, but that's about it. Pick a bottle up if you can get it for a good price!

Mellow Corn Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Corn Whiskey
-$10 via a friend.
-100 proof and aged for at least 2 years. No age statement.
This is straight Heaven Hill. Mellow Corn is an awesome value- if you can find it. I can't emphasize this enough! The 100 proof and longer aging gives this a totally different profile than the McCormick-bottled products. The color is no longer a lemon yellow, but a light brown. In the shot glass, it's like watered down apple juice. The nose is wonderful- corn, light oak, fruits, with a tiny hint of cocoa and leather. On the tongue it's heaven. The moonshine flavors are dialed down and a slight oak flavor has now entered. The corn takes center stage and the 100 proof has brought the flavors to a blasting "10." It's still smooth and drinks like a young Bourbon but with no rye bite. It's all sugar and sweets. The finish is heavy towards the corn side (as usual), but has more complexity with a hint of syrup and oak. It lasts for a few short seconds and is gone- just like the others. This whiskey is amazing. As long as I have friends that can find it and provide it for me, I'll take it! If I could buy it by the case, I would! At ten bucks a bottle, this is one whiskey that should be in every collection! Buy it, you won't be disappointed!

Michter's decanters- a possible hidden danger!

Recently, a thread was started on Straightbourbon.com about the possibility of lead leeching from the glaze of whiskey decanters into the whiskey over time. While it does seem like a stretch, after the a sample was sent to the lab, it turns out it's not. The sample registered over ONE THOUSAND times the acceptable limit of lead! So there is certainly an issue here. I do not know what the glaze is on Michter's decanters, but I would assume it would be the same. Most decanters were glazed with leaded glazing through the 80's. So this is a warning- be careful about consuming too much whiskey out of old decanters! Try to find full, sealed glass bottles instead as the whiskey should have a lower amount of lead, oxidation, and contaminants. For further reading, here is the link to the thread on Straightbourbon:


Lead In Decanters

The "new" Michter's gets a new home.

Just a few days ago, the current Michter's Distillery made the big announcement that they were going to renovate a historic building in downtown Louisville, KY. This once again gives the Michter's brand name a place to call home. It also means that within a few years, the Michter's we buy off the shelf may not just be bulk whiskey bought from another distiller, but actual whiskey fermented, distilled, and aged by Michter's. This is bittersweet to me because I believe the ONLY Michter's Distillery is in Schaefferstown. I am also very upset by the lies that the "new" Michter's keeps spewing. They claim they "hail from the oldest distilling company" in the United States. This is a lie. Michter's was created in the early 1950's by Louis Forman- making the Michter's name one of the newer names in American whiskey. The DISTILLERY which Michter's was made at was and is the oldest intact distillery site in the USA. The "new" Michter's also goes on to state as fact that their product was drank by George Washington's troops at Valley Forge. Again, a lie. No link has ever been found between the distillery (Let alone a brand created in the 1950's!) and George Washington. Michter's in Schaefferstown used "The Whiskey That Warmed The Revolution" but only speculated at a visit from Washington. It was the Lebanon Valley Coin Club that made a Michter's coin that probably started the rumor by depicting George Washington and some troops outside the distillery. Lastly, the "new" Michter's claims they have a Master Distiller- Mr. Willie Pratt. This is an impossibility. A Master Distiller is just that- the man that oversees the distillation of his company's product. Since the "new" Michter's does not distill, but buys already-distilled bulk whiskey from other distillers, there is no way they can have a Master Distiller. Willie Pratt simply selects the aged barrels then has them dumped for bottling. Once Michter's gets their new micro distillery up and running and Mr. Pratt is running the stills, only then will he be a real Master Distiller. But I digress.....

Anyway, John Hansell of Malt Advocate was on top of the story and officially broke the news on his blog. Read it here:

Michter's Makes A Move

Michter's is sold to new owners.

Lebanon Farms Disposal family members purchased Michter's Distillery this week. Here is a link to the Lebanon Daily News article written by Steve Snyder:


ARTICLE

Here is the text of the article exactly how it appears on the website (In the event the story is removed.)

"A Lebanon County landmark has been sold, and the new owners say their goal is to make it safe.

Michter's Distillery, also known as Bomberger's Distillery, has been in a state of disrepair for decades and has become both an eyesore and a public-safety hazard.

"Our number-one priority is to clean it up and get it safe," new owner John Barry of JJC Investments said Tuesday.

Barry and his family own the adjoining Lebanon Farms Disposal property in Heidelberg Township. They bought the Michter's property from Dwight L. Hostetter of Cleona for $250,000 at a settlement on Friday. Hostetter had owned the property since he bought it in April 1999 for $185,000, according to the Lebanon County Assessment Office.

A total of $23,892 in taxes dating back to 2009 is owed on the property, not counting Elco School District property tax, which has yet to be set for this year. The property was listed for a tax sale in September.

Many of the roughly 10 buildings on the 21-acre site are falling down, Barry said. Those that can be salvaged will be used for warehousing.

"We will utilize the silos for grain storage," he said.

After a warehouse at the corner of Distillery and Michter roads collapsed on Sept. 22, the Heidelberg Township supervisors sought and subsequently obtained a court order from county Judge Samuel Kline to force Hostetter either to clean up or sell the property.

A township resident told supervisors that rats were living in the abandoned buildings
on the grounds of the distillery, which ceased business operations in 1989.

The property has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since June 1975 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980. It closed when Michter's filed for bankruptcy.

Whiskey production at the site began in 1753. It was purchased by the Abe Bomberger family in 1861, was sold shortly after Prohibition went into effect in the 1920s and was reopened by Ephraim Sechrist in 1934.

Three large, cement-block warehouses were built between 1933 and 1950.

Karen Arnold of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission said a 20 percent tax credit is available for properties used as income-producing but added, "demolition costs would never be allowed."

Lancaster County has been a heavy user of those tax credits, but only four properties in Lebanon County have benefited, all in the 1980s: two former railroad stations in Lebanon, the Landis Shoe Co. building at Chestnut and Broad streets in Palmyra, and Rescue Fire Hall in Annville.

Arnold said Michter's "remoteness" is a problem. Although it is not far from Route 501, there is no direct line of sight from that state highway to 215 Michter's Road.

She last saw the property about 20 years ago.

"It wasn't good then," she recalled.

Michter's, identified as Bomberger's Distillery, was listed on Preservation Pennsylvania's At Risk list in 1994.

Only 2,500 properties are listed as National Historic Landmarks, Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz noted.

"I agree that there are severe deterioration issues there, and some of the (circa) 1940s cement block buildings may be able to be removed," Litz wrote in an email. "If a prospective developer needs federal funds, licenses or permits for a project that involves an adverse effect (demolition) to the buildings, there are federal regulations that need to be complied with."

Again, this is not my writing, but Steve Snyder of Lebanon Daily News. A big thank you to him for writing this article!

So what's next? Who knows. Guess I have some phone calls to make!

I'm still here.

Well, apparently I wasn't one of the lucky 144,000 to fly through a crack in the sky today. Ha!

But anyway, it seems like people did all sorts of stuff to prepare for the impending rapture or chaos that was to ensue on earth. People tried converting people to see their way, they prayed, some stockpiled food while others sold off possessions. My preparation for today? I bought 2 bottles of Rittenhouse Rye! After all, if lava comes spewing from the earth's core and fire comes down from the heavens, that could potentially disrupt the production of my favorite (And hard-to-get!) rye whiskey. So I'm set for a few more months. And since it's now 7PM and I haven't seen cars crashing, people taking to the streets screaming, and any heavenly beings looking through my window, it would appear I can savor some of my newly-bought whiskey this evening.