Tasting: Michter’s Bomberger’s and Shenk’s Whiskeys (2024)

If there’s one topic that always seems to come up when writing about products from Kentucky’s Michter’s Distillery, it’s transparency. The company is making some of what is absolutely the best bourbon and rye in the world these days, and has been for quite a while, but attempting to wrap your head around exactly what is in the bottle at any given time always tends to present some level of challenge, because the distillery has long chosen to play its cards close to the chest. Over time, it’s become a bit easier for consumers to understand what exactly they’re drinking when it comes to most of the core Michter’s lineup–though where the company sources from is still secretive–but the special releases tend to be just as mysterious as ever. And this is only that much more true of the oft-misunderstood Legacy Series from Michter’s, which includes Bomberger’s Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Shenk’s Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey. The duo is annually released together, but in addition to being quite distinct from each other, they also evolve substantially from year to year.

The fact of the matter is that the Bomberger’s and Shenk’s bottles in particular don’t do a great job of explaining to the consumer exactly what they should expect, or what is unique about each of them. The Bomberger’s is easier to understand because it at least declares itself as a Kentucky straight bourbon, and customers understand that meaning. It doesn’t, however, bear an age statement or mention the company’s use of 36-month air seasoned Chinquapin oak for Bomberger’s, which I believe is unique to this release. And the Shenk’s Homestead bottle is a particularly big mystery to the average package store patron given that it just reads “sour mash whiskey.” The missing detail there is that Shenk’s is likely a blend of bourbon and rye whiskeys, or what many consumers refer to as bourye. Notably, according to the distillery it makes use of some newly charred, 24-month air seasoned barrels from the Vosges region of France to age some of the rye whiskey used in this blend.

These are simply things that would be helpful for the consumer to know, in terms of being able to develop a sense of what to expect from these bottles. Ideally, a consumer wouldn’t have to search the web in order to find more details on what really makes these brands unique, particularly when we’re talking about annual special releases with MSRPs of $110 (Shenk’s) and $120 (Bomberger’s).

Regardless, let’s get into tasting each of these whiskeys in their newly released 2024 expressions, and see how they measure up.

Michter’s Shenk’s Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey (2024)

ABV: 45.6% (91.2 proof)
MSRP: $110

The Shenk’s series is named for the original founder of the distillery that would go on to be called Michter’s, one John Shenk who founded the Shenk’s Distillery in Pennsylvania in 1753. This bottle tends to be the more rye-forward of the two, given that the company does reveal there is rye whiskey rather than simply Kentucky bourbon in this blend. The company notes that the 2024 release of Shenk’s uses 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.” Caramel or crystal malted barley is a more common ingredient in the U.S. craft brewing world, where various shades of this malt can yield flavors that range from light honey to darker caramels and dried fruit. This 2024 Shenk’s also makes use of at least some virgin, toasted French oak from the Vosges region of France.

On the nose, Shenk’s 2024 is sweet and roasty, displaying a lot of barrel char, French roast coffee, dark chocolate and sweet nougat. There are also layers of quite dark fruit here, suggesting blackberry, along with toasted grain evoking both sweeter cornbread and rye spice, with pepper. On the palate, the seasoned oaky tones really pop here, with layers of baking spice and sweet oak char, leading to significant tannin that leads to a drier finish than it initially feels like it will be in the first rush of sweetness. I’m getting nutty coffee and loads of rye, but with flashes of that dark/dried fruit, suggesting dates and honey. This is a pretty complex profile and quite a wood heavy one–I’d recommend the 2024 Shenk’s to lovers of oak spice who don’t mind some supporting tannin and a slightly dry finish. It’s a rather elegant expression, though some may find the French oak is expressing itself a little loudly.

Michter’s Bomberger’s Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2024)

ABV: 54% (108 proof)
MSRP: $120

The Bomberger’s brand continues the Legacy Series in reference to how the original Shenk’s Distillery changed its name to Bomberger’s in the 1800s, before that name eventually became Michter’s in the mid-20th century. This is a more conventional blend of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys, presumably with some decent age on it, although it’s non-age-stated and the source distilleries aren’t disclosed. Michter’s does let on that the 2024 release of Bomberger’s includes some malted rye in the mash bill, much as the Shenk’s does. It also continues the use of “some” Chinquapin oak, air dried and seasoned outdoors for 36 months before toasting and charring–which is a very long time for oak drying–in order “to accentuate the dark chocolate and stewed fruit notes in this big whiskey.”

On the nose, this release to me first evokes butterscotch and glazed nuts, along with caramel corn, brown butter and a harder-to-place fruitiness that I eventually pegged as something akin to strawberry. There’s some slightly exotic baked/cooked fruit notes here that are interesting, along with pleasant secondary notes of baking spice–especially nutmeg–and a slight bell pepper-like vegetal/herbal note. On the palate, this turns pretty sweet, with plenty of caramel and vanilla buttercream, pecan praline, some charred oak, toasted marshmallow and heavy toasted oak spice of the sort that I so often associate with the uniquely “toasty” wood profile of many Michter’s bourbons. The impression is comfortably familiar to me–center of the bullseye Kentucky bourbon characteristics with some nice, toasted oak layers of complexity.

It’s easy to see most bourbon geeks quite enjoying this one, but both of these Legacy Series releases in 2024 are pretty exemplary in their own way. Here’s hoping that the labels someday make their features a bit easier for the layman to understand at a glance.

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.