Michters Sour Mash

Michter's Sour Mash is a Kentucky whiskey bottled at 43% ABV (86 proof). Its defining feature is the production method in its name: sour mashing, where some previously fermented mash goes into each new batch. Distillers use the technique to keep fermentation consistent from one batch to the next, and it tends to give a rounder, slightly tangy depth rather than a sharp, grain-forward bite. The category here is bourbon, so expect a corn-led sweetness with caramel and vanilla from charred oak. Styles like this usually add a light baking-spice edge, and the supplied reference copy suggests a touch of rye-style spice in the mix. Treat those as the likely shape of the whiskey, not a measured profile. At 43% it is easy to approach neat, which is the best way to learn what the sour mash method does to the flavor. Pour about 45 ml and give it a minute in the glass before the first sip. A few drops of room-temperature water can loosen the aromatics and soften any alcohol heat, and it is worth trying with and without. One large ice cube is a sound choice for slow sipping. It chills the pour gently and dilutes it slowly, whereas small, fast-melting cubes can flatten the sweetness and oak. For glassware, a Glencairn is the better tool for nosing. Its tapered bowl concentrates the vanilla, oak and grain aromas, so you can judge them before you taste. A rocks glass suits ice and cocktails, and it gives you room for a large cube. In cocktails, the bourbon base and moderate proof make this a good fit for an Old Fashioned: a sugar cube or a teaspoon of rich syrup, two dashes of Angostura bitters and an orange peel, stirred over ice. It also works in a Manhattan, with sweet vermouth and bitters, where any rye-style spice should stand up to the vermouth. For a Whiskey Sour, shake with fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, and add egg white if you want a silkier texture. A simple highball, with two parts soda to one part whiskey over ice and a lemon twist, keeps the corn sweetness and oak noticeable without much sugar.