Michter’s Is Dropping Its 2025 Legacy Series Whiskeys
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We just named Michter’s 20 Year Old the best bourbon of the year in our 2025 Best of the Best issue, an honor that was well deserved. But the Kentucky distillery has many other whiskeys in its lineup, aside from its ultra-aged expressions. There’s also the Legacy Series, an annual release that is coming out once again in July, and we have the details to share.
Michter’s Legacy Series launched in 2018 as a tribute to John Shenk, a Swiss Mennonite farmer who is an important figure in the distillery’s history. In 1753, he founded Shenk’s Distillery in Pennsylvania, which later became Bomberger’s, and finally Michter’s in the 1950s. (It was named after owner Louis Forman’s sons Michael and Peter.) The two new whiskeys, as always, are Shenk’s Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey and Bomberger’s Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and they differ from each other in some key ways.
Shenk’s Homestead, as you can tell by the name, is not a bourbon but instead a Kentucky whiskey because it does not meet bourbon’s requirements in regards to mashbill or maturation. According to Michter’s master distiller Dan McKee, the latter step played an outsized role in the whiskey’s flavor. “I really enjoy the bold and lingering baking spice notes in the 2025 Shenk’s release,” he said in a statement. “Some of it was finished in French oak barrels—toasted, but not charred—crafted from wood grown in the Vosges forest, and this helped to accentuate the character of the rye in this whiskey.” The distillery says there is a large percentage of rye in the mashbill, although exact numbers are not revealed, and the palate has notes of baking spice, dried fruit, toffee, nougat, and burnt sugar. Shenk’s Homestead is bottled at 91.2 proof.
Bomberger’s, on the other hand, is a bourbon, and some of the liquid was matured in chinquapin oak barrels, which Michter’s master of maturation Andrea Wilson says was key to the flavor profile. “Once again, chinquapin barrels have contributed to the hallmark flavor of Bomberger’s Declaration,” she said. “For this year’s release we used a spectrum of different barrels constructed from wood naturally seasoned outdoors in varying cases from 18 months to three years to four years to five years, thus changing the chemistry of the oak’s contributions during aging. The result is a bold and multi-dimensional experience to savor and enjoy.” Bomberger’s is bottled at 108 proof and has floral, jammy, sweet, and salty (!) notes on the palate, according to the distillery.
Both Legacy Series whiskeys will be available starting this July: Shenk’s is priced at $110, and Bomberger’s at $120. You can find previous releases, including the excellent Bomberger’s PFG, at specialty liquor stores and at websites like Total Wine now.
