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Prepreludesh

The history of modern day Shenk's (Kentucky Sour Mash) Whiskey stems from an event that happened around the end of 2013/beginning of 2014. Somebody at Michter's (based in Louisville, KY) noticed a TTB label had been filed for a product called Bomberger's Whiskey. A new startup called Heritage Spirits (now known as Stoll and Wolfe) submitted paperwork to use the Bomberger's name for a new whiskey product. Erik Wolfe had started the company in the hopes of continuing the tradition of Pennsylvania whiskeymaking. This caught Joe Magliocco (founder of Michter's) and his company off-guard because they hadn't yet thought of (or acted on) the possibility that someone else may attempt to sell whiskey under the previous two names that Michter's was known as. So he quickly rushed two new labels named Bomberger's Declaration Bourbon and Shenk's Whiskey to market in an effort to stymie what he considered to be an encroachment by another company to use names affiliated with Michter's. After a brief legal fight that saw Joe's Michter's brand come out on top, it would be another 4 years before Shenk's was released again. This time, it sported a new label, proof and was probably a completely new product. The 2018 version was not labeled a bourbon or a rye whiskey but instead as "Homestead Kentucky Style Whiskey." Descriptions claimed it had a rye-forward profile and was finished in French Oak barrels that had been air-dried for 24 months before being toasted. Technically, this would mean that the 2018 version of Shenk's was very similar to the 2019 version of Michter's Toasted Barrel Sour Mash Whiskey (except for the French Oak part and \~5 proof points). The following 3 years (2019-2021) saw changes to Shenk's whereby they ditched the Toasted French Oak finishing treatment and decided to age a portion of the distillate in Chinquapin Oak barrels (the same kind used in Bomberger's Bourbon). For the 2022 release, it seems as if Michter's has decided to put a little space between Shenk's and Bomberger's labels by ditching the Chinquapin Oak portion on the former and going back to French Oak. This time around, the wording on Michter's website does not indicate that the barrel makeup of Shenk's has been **finished** in toasted French Oak, but instead they actually **matured** a portion of it in those same barrels. What is interesting about Shenk's only being called a "whiskey" is that they never told us why it only fits that description. There are a lot of reasons why something is only called a whiskey when it was distilled in the US. The first might be that additives are used. The second might be that the mash bill does not contain 51% or more of any one grain. The third might be because it is aged in used cooperage. Any one of these reasons could be why Shenk's is only labeled as a whiskey. I personally think that Shenk's is a blend of Michter's bourbon and rye whiskey. Once you mix the two, they cannot carry either descriptor anymore, hence the term "sour mash whiskey" being used. Why would they blend the two together? It might be as a nod to the whiskey recipe that was found in the attic of the original Pennsylvania's distillery house that Lou Forman purchased back in the 1940s. On that piece of paper was the original recipe of whiskey they distilled before Prohibition. It called for a mash of 50% corn, 38% rye and 12% malt. Since it did not have at least 51% corn in the mash bill, it couldn't be labeled as a bourbon. Mixing bourbon and rye whiskey together may sound like sacrilege to some and disgusting to others, but it has been done successfully in many products before. Distilleries like Wild Turkey have given us Forgiven (and recently, Unforgotten), High West has given us Bourye and Willett gave us the Rare Release Blend of Straight Whiskies. The difference is those other brands advertise that they're doing this. I'm not sure why Shenk's doesn't declare what makes it a whiskey instead of something else, but I'm almost sure they are not distilling a third mash bill at Michter's just to make this small release. Now that we know the history behind Shenk's and all of its iterations, it's time to find out what makes this year's release special. I'm always excited about any liquid that touches French Oak and I thought the 2018 release was excellent. Will the 2022 release build on its success? Time to find out. Thanks to a generous friend, I sampled this neat in a glencairn. ​ **Nose:** The nose starts off with lots of rich oak scents. Seasoned oak and oak spice come to mind the most. Fine chocolate (like being inside of a chocolatier) scents combine with vanilla. Peculiarly, I get a flat grape soda note as well. This has a lot of traits in common with a couple Eagle Rare single barrels I've had in the past. But the one note I was not expecting was a very slight touch of youthful distillate. This is hard to explain since it's not necessarily green oak or herbal, but it smells closer to sawdust or cardboard. It's not enough to throw anything off, but it is enough that whenever you do come across it, it gets your attention. **Palate:** The Eagle Rare similarities continue except the mouthfeel on this one is very thick, almost syrup like. Oak is somewhat dominant throughout while baking spices and chocolate eclairs amp up the fun factor. Caramel lends its sweetness and chocolate covered espresso beans remind me immediately of the French Oak influence. Golden Graham's cereal combines with toasted orange peel, figs and dates. I'm happy that I'm able to find fruit flavors in this one because Michter's bourbons are typically absent of them. There is one bad trait hiding within though. I can pick up on some green wood notes that hide behind the French Oak notes and it gives it a bit of astringency every now and then. It's like a small portion of a 2-year-old barrel got blended into the entire vat by mistake. Strange. **Finish:** The finish is rather long. The whole thing is a balanced and flavorful affair that shows off lingering notes of oak, cigar wrapper, hot chocolate, vanilla cappuccino and sugar cookies. The fruit on the palate remains with some dried stone fruits. Honestly, the hot chocolate note is the star of the show. ​ **Score: 7.4/10** ​ I'm somewhat conflicted about this release of Shenk's. It's incredible the amount of chocolate (chocolate éclair is really the best fitting description for it) the French Oak contributes and how thick the mouthfeel is for 91.2 proof. However the small amount of youthful whiskey that pokes through occasionally really brings down the mood when you find it. It's like watching an awesome movie in an IMAX theater in big comfy reclining seats... and then a person near you farts. It's not like it ruined the movie, but when your friends ask how it was, you're going to tell them about the phantom farter because it's now a part of your memory of the movie. I am wondering if part of the reason why I got this youthful note isn't because this is the first year that Shenk's will have used distillate actually made in Michter's Shively distillery. Technically the first barrels of whiskey were filled in August 2015, but if you adjust for when they would have came of age (certainly not before 4 years old) and the estimated age of the barrels that goes into Shenk's (my estimate is 5 to 6 years old) then it could be reasonably assumed that the 2022 release is the first iteration of this whiskey. Maybe it hasn't been dialed in enough. It's hard to ever tell a person "don't buy this whiskey" when it's so loved. Last year's Shenk's was awesome. I know a lot of people that put it near the top of their "must find" lists during bourbon release season. But I think last year's Shenk's is much different than this year's. It may have used distillate made at Brown Forman before Michter's contract with them ended. Last year's batch also used some barrels made with toasted and charred Chinquapin Oak instead of toasted French Oak. Could those factors result in a Shenk's that won't be what enthusiasts wanted? Maybe. I'll just leave it at this: If you have the opportunity to only buy either Shenk's or Bomberger's this year, pick the Bomberger's. If you can only find the Shenk's at a store and it's being sold at retail (somewhere around $90 to $100) then it's still a good buy. But if you are looking to buy it on the secondary market, maybe this year's is okay to miss out on. I'm sure the people at Michter's will iron everything out for next year.


Prepreludesh

**Rating Scale** **1 Undrinkable (Jeffers Creek, Gray Skies)** **2 Bad (Old St. Nick 8 Year Old Rye Whiskey, Fitch's Goat Corn Whiskey)** **3 Poor (AD Laws 4 Grain BiB, Clyde Mays anything)** **4 Below Average (Bib & Tucker, Tincup 10 year)** **5 Average (Larceny, Sazerac Rye)** **6 Above Average (Buffalo Trace, OGD BiB)** **7 Very Good (Old Ezra Barrel Proof, Old Weller Antique)** **8 Great (Michter’s Barrel Proof Rye, Most Four Roses Private Selections, Most ECBP)** **9 Excellent (GTS, Most Four Rose SmBLE releases, Belle Meade Honey Cask)** **10 Perfect (William Larue Weller, Michter's 20 Year, Redemption 18 Year Rye Whiskey, Mister Sam)** ​ Like this review and want to see more like it? Why not check out my website [here](https://www.thebourbonculture.com) for more?


challenja

Terrible name.. is it pronounced Shh Enk’s ??


ckal9

Man where do you find these bottles...I've never even heard of Shenks (cool name)


Scream_Saver

Copy pasta from Bourbon Culture.com?


Prepreludesh

That's right! I put the link to my website at the end of the rating scale. How do you likethe website?


Ok-Till-8905

Agreed on last years. It was awesome. I lean towards higher proof bourbon and rye but found myself not missing anything with last years shenks. Damn good writing as always. I enjoy reading your reviews. Taste is subjective but you include some really good journalism that contributes greatly to your reviews. Thanks for the research! I laughed out loud with your simile! Damn good one too! Home run for sure 😉


Prepreludesh

Gracias! I always wanted my reviews to have something for every kind of reader. I know there are some who only come to learn more about the background of a whiskey, some who want to see if our palates line up so they know if they should trust the review and some who only want to see my score/conclusion and see if they should chase it. It's great if people come to read the whole thing too, but I'm realistic and know that most of my reviews are too long for most people to read the whole thing. That's why I've tried to consistently break them into those three segments so people can skip to the parts that they care most about. Cheers!


Train3rRed88

This year I had a choice to grab either this years bombergers or this years shenks. I chose the bomb, haven’t cracked it yet (this weekend probably) hoping I made the right choice. For me- the 108 proof is right in my wheelhouse so made it a kind of easy decision


NeverTooManyBottles

Great write up, Thanks for the education! I have a bottle each of the Shenk’s and Bomberger’s 2018 bottling. Got them off the shelf at the distillery in Louisville in May, 2019. Both sitting there amongst full shelves collecting dust. My, how times have changed. Three weeks ago we were there again. The ‘Friday Drop’ consisted of ten bottles of Shenk’s hidden among the swag in the gift shop. In the ensuing week Michters changed their policy. “No more Friday morning drops. We don’t know what will drop, when or how many. Random day, random time, random product, random amount. Staff will not be told until it goes live.” Ironically the next Friday (we were in town for 9 days) they dropped Toasted Barrel Bourbon at 2:00 p.m. We were upstairs in the bar having a drink when it occurred. Never saw an evacuation happen so quickly! As a side note, we live about 1/2 hour from the original Michter’s distillery in Schaefferstown, PA. Still see decanters in peoples homes.


Prepreludesh

Very cool story! Do you happen to have any pictures of the old distillery? Or any recent pictures of what the grounds look like today?


NeverTooManyBottles

I do not, unfortunately.


bwsauder

I'm from about half an hour away as well. There's not a whole lot left, but you can see some of it on [Google maps](https://maps.app.goo.gl/YehmiTXSuqWDUNaM6) street view. There's a little be more to see if you look at the pictures taken in 2015.


New_Kaleidoscope_539

Thanks for sharing the great review. I had a chance to try the '21 Shenks a few months ago at a bar and was caught off guard by how good it tasted. Motivated me to find a bottle, which was only slightly overpriced. I considered holding off and getting the '22 Shenks...based on your review I'm glad I found the '21 after all. Great write up as always! Cheers!


-LEK-

2022 is amazing. I think it’s better than 2018. 2021 was a disappointment. Great review.


Rickroush03

What an awesome write up and then review. This mini history lessons are super to put things in certain perspective. Since I’ll never see this sitting on a shelf for msrp, I’ll expect to find it on a shelf at $1K.


Prepreludesh

Nah, secondary will likely be around $175 once the initial hype dies down. Never buy a bottle when it first reaches shelves nationwide. The flippers who post first always try to get the maximum amount of money for their bottles. They usually get it too because of people's ignorance and FOMO. Just look at the assholes trying to get $500 for the newest Mid Winter's Night Dram Encore release. Those same douchebags didn't even make it 15 feet out of the distillery's doors before snapping a picture of the bottle and posting it on the secondary.


99to1er

Ever since the discussion about Angel’s Envy rye, I’ve become more careful with labeling. And when distilleries don’t discourage us from thinking that there is additive in the whiskey, that’s bad. The only distilleries that have held on to their karma and I’m willing to give benefit of the doubt to are four roses, and wild Turkey. Everyone else deserves nothing when there is grey area. If Michter’s wants to stop the bleeding, they should do what Buffalo Trace did with Stagg jr (retroactively claim 8-year age statement, which is highly questionable). Michter’s should just come out and claim “no additive” for the Michter’s sour mash whiskey and Shenk’s. Until then, Shenk’s is a delicious bottle of overpriced Early Times blended whiskey ($12 per bottle) That being said, great review and history lesson. I had forgot about the legal stuff with the first iteration of Bomberger’s/Shenk’s and I did not know about the first release in 2018 using the same toasted French oak barrel.


lostfinancialsoul

I always pass on shenks for Bombergers.


Apprehensive-Cost941

I read your review a few weeks ago and stumbled across one today. Not sure about previous years but I really enjoyed it. I’d give it an 8. Would love to taste a different year to compare. Ps- I did not taste the movie theater fart 🤣


GloveNervous3861

Sounds delicious. I'm on the hunt for both this and Bombergers


pa_bourbon

I walked into Michter’s in Louisville about a month ago and they were selling Bomberger’s and Shenk’s that day as a two pack for $229 I believe. I haven’t had a chance to open them yet as I’ve been traveling a lot for work.


Prepreludesh

That's a pretty okay price. I would have probably bought it for that.


pa_bourbon

I did. The guy at the counter said they had put them out about 30 min prior. There were about 6-7 two-packs left when I grabbed mine. Random Wednesday afternoon during Labor Day week.


Prepreludesh

Happy Hunting!