Michter’s US1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon (2024) Review

It’s been just about a decade now since Michter’s upended the American whiskey market’s relationship with toasted barrels via the first release of its US1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon. It’s not always properly understood that this was by no means the first use of toasting as a technique in cooperages/barrel manufacture–any number of distilleries had always toasted their barrels before charring them. What Michter’s innovated was the idea of toasting a barrel without then charring it, and subsequently using that toasted barrel for a secondary period of maturation. No one in the bourbon geek market had really experienced the flavor profile that could be brought out by toasted, uncharred oak before, and it ended up being a revelation that altered how many larger distilleries looked at the coopering process.

In the years since, Michter’s has continued to occasionally release its Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon, albeit sporadically. This has no doubt contributed to its legend, as bourbon geeks generally want nothing in this world more than “whatever they can’t find” in any given moment. Other major distillers such as Heaven Hill quickly joined the game with more permanent toasted offerings, beginning to carve out a new niche, while Michter’s expanded its use of these barrels to other corners of its own portfolio such as rye whiskey and sour mash whiskey. But I think it’s fair to say that a particular soft spot has remained for the original US1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon, which has continued to drive outrageous secondary market price gouging for it even at a time when it feels like the bourbon craze is finally beginning to recede.

This September, Michter’s is releasing their first expression of US1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon since 2021, so we’ll once again get a chance to see how much fervor it can whip up. As with previous batches, this one was created by taking mature Michter’s US1 Bourbon and giving it a secondary maturation in newly toasted, 18-month air dried oak barrels. It weighs in at an approachable 45.7% ABV (91.4 proof), and currently sits at an MSRP of $110. So with that said, let’s get right into tasting it.

On the nose, there’s no missing the immediate rush of big toasted oak aromatics and a plethora of baking spice notes here. This is like how I imagine it would smell if you took a freshly sawn 2×4 and rubbed it with honey, and then slowly baked it in your kitchen oven, before sprinkling it with cinnamon and nutmeg. There are some fruity elements as well, with hints of red apple flesh and maybe a little peach preserves. Toasted marshmallow and honeycomb cereal round out a mostly sweet profile, but it’s absolutely the toasted oak spice that is the biggest contributor.

On the palate this is plenty sweet upfront, with a lot of honey and brown sugar, into massive spicy oak and desserty baking spices. Cinnamon brown sugar, molasses, cardamom buns, berry compote and vanilla all stick out, into long, lingering oaky spice. This is more or less what anyone who has sampled the Michter’s portfolio would probably expect, but also where some Michter’s “toasted” expressions have lost me in the past–their base spirit already exhibits a lot of nuanced oak spice, so I think that the ones receiving a secondary toasted barrel finish sometimes actually overdo this profile. Here, however, it works pretty well–the bourbon isn’t drawing much astringency or tannin from the secondary finish, which can sometimes happen, but those qualities are almost entirely absent here. Instead it just fades out gently with a finish combining honeyed sweetness and pastry-like baking spice. It’s quite easy drinking overall. One wonders if this actually packs enough volume of flavor to satisfy some bourbon geeks, given the more than $100 price tag, or whether their palates would grow a little tired of it over time. This is perhaps one best experienced in relatively small quantities.

At the end of the day, this release can’t quite match the depth and complexity of Michter’s own 10 Year Bourbon expression from this year, which is one of my very favorite releases of 2024 to date, but this is still sure to delight those who enjoy the sweet, toasted baking spice profile in particular. You can’t accuse this of not delivering on the “toasted” promise, which it absolutely has in spades.

Distillery: Michter’s
City: Louisville, KY
Style: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
ABV: 45.7% (91.4 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $110 MSRP

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