Joseph Magliocco had excellent timing when reviving Michter’s. The brand has undergone a host of transitions throughout its modern history, be it during conception or otherwise. Originally established in Pennsylvania as Shenk’s and then Bomberger’s, the since-defunct distillery is marked by little more than a diminutive jug house. The current distillery is located in Louisville, KY, with Michter’s aiming to complete their transition from sourcing to in-house distilling over the next few years. Both Andrea Wilson and Dan McKee have gone on record saying that bottles of their core US1 range from 2024 onward no longer utilize sourced stocks. It’s also heavily alleged that recent bottles in their Legacy series, Shenk’s Homestead and Bomberger’s Declaration, have made an identical transition.

Despite these changes, Michter’s seem averse to making their back label nomenclature reflect them (which I’ll continue harping on until they do). A similar observation can be made with three of the brand’s other expressions—US1 Sour Mash, Shenk’s Homestead, and Celebration Sour Mash. The first two make no mention of what components go into the final product, forgoing the word “straight” and failing to disclose whether they’re additive-free. To be clear, I think the chances that Michter’s does this are next to nil, but whiskey geeks are nothing if not selectively attentive. We can potentially derive some information based on online details for each Celebration Sour Mash release, which mention using various combinations of Kentucky straight rye and Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey barrels. If each Michter’s product labeled as “sour mash” is similarly produced, then it stands to reason that the effective mash bill of each release could vary.

Speaking of varying releases, let’s quickly touch on the subject of today’s review. The Michter’s website has information on each recent release of Shenk’s Homestead dating back to 2018. So imagine my befuddlement when I came into a sample of a 2017 bottle and couldn’t find any concrete information on it. Both Shenk’s and Bomberger’s have become synonymous with experimentation for Michter’s, especially in recent years when they utilized malted and caramel malted grains in addition to the more established use of certain wood for maturing the whiskeys. The 2018 Shenk’s Homestead was partially finished in French oak casks from the Vosges region while 2019-2021 utilized sa portion of chinquapin oak before returning to French oak for 2022. My guess is that the 2017 release also incorporated French oak, but it’s ultimately conjecture. I also reached out to Michter’s for information on it, but got the cold shoulder.

*EDIT: Michter’s has since responded to my inquiry. They mentioned how, in 2018, they added the year of release to the labels and announced additional product information. However, with regards to the 2017 bottles, they “did not vintage date or release detailed production information about each Legacy Series release.”

With that out of the way, let’s see how the whiskey smells and tastes.

Nose: Toasted Sugars, Cream Cheese Frosting, Almond Biscotti, Flat Cola

Mellow, Creamy, Approachable

Palate: Wafer Cookie, Vanilla Custard, Honey, Nougat

Light, Mild, Tannic

Finish: Vanilla, Cream Cheese Frosting, Buttermilk Pancake, Bread Pudding

Creamy, Mildly Drying, Lukewarm

The 2019 Shenk’s Homestead was one of my first scoresheet reviews, and I still remember my overall thoughts on it. A light, tasty pour with mostly bourbon-like notes that didn’t seem to punch at its price point. Perhaps it’s of little surprise then that the 2017 version achieves similar results, albeit with markedly fewer fruit notes. This whiskey leans very much into the easygoing end of the spectrum, with the creamy mouthfeel and complementarily warming finish being the two standout qualities. As for the flavor profile, depth, and complexity? All absolutely lukewarm.

If you’d served 2017 Shenk’s Homestead to me blind, I’d likely guess it to be a budget-minded shelfer at around $40-$60. Although the actual notes I get are quite pleasant, I have to work to get them, and even then, it’s unexciting while feeling incidental to the overall experience. Ultimately, this early release of Shenk’s seems to hit the mark for an elevated, beginner-friendly pour. Yet it definitely isn’t positioned like one when factoring in price and availability. To borrow from Stuff & Whiskey, if offered a pour, I’d happily finish it, but would want something different afterwards.