The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Michter’s new Vendome-made still
(Credit: Michter’s)
On Thursday, Michter’s took a big step in its transition from bottler to distiller when it took delivery of and installed its distillation equipment. The media, including a video-shooting drone, looked on as the 46-foot tall column of the still was moved into Michter’s production facility, located in the Louisville suburb of Shivley.
Michter’s President Joseph Magliocco predicted the distillery would be in operation by April 2015. The Shivley facility had already been in use as a bottling plant, as well as the site of two test stills and a 64,000-gallon set of fermenting vats. When everything is up and running, the Michter’s Distillery should employ 26 workers.
A Profound Case of Michter’s Denial
We’ve been anticipating Vendome’s Michter’s installation at The Whiskey Reviewer since this past April, when Associate Editor Kurt Maitland and I were in Louisville, Kentucky for a working trip. Part of that agenda included a call on the Vendome copperworks, America’s premier stillmaker. While there we saw Michter’s on the Vendome project schedule and spoke to company vice president Mike Sherman about it, so we had been expecting the recent news.
Yet judging from the response Kurt and I received during the intervening months whenever we mentioned that Michter’s had its still on the way, many others must have been oddly surprised. If I mentioned that Michter’s would soon have its still to a whiskey fan, writer or blogger, for the most part I was either ignored as the bearer of unwelcome news or brushed off as either naive or a paid shill for Michter’s (presumably in these scenarios, Vendome must have been an unnamed co-conspirator with Michter’s, while not actually doing any other work for them). As recently as just a few weeks ago, other whiskey bloggers and writers were still scoffing at us when we said we’d been there, seen it, and knew it was happening.
None of this was really surprising, however, as we started experiencing this kind of stubborn Michter’s denial less than an hour after leaving Vendome. Following our visit with Mike Sherman, we stopped in at a bar that Kurt had visited on his last trip to Louisville and talked whiskey shop for a bit with the bar’s owner. When Michter’s came up, the bar owner overflowed with icy contempt, dismissing both their downtown and Shivley construction projects as deceptive publicity stunts while insisting that the company would never build a still.
“But we just came from Vendome. The Michter’s still is on their calender for this summer,” said Kurt.
I added, “It’s not just a tourist still either, or that is what Mike Sherman says.”
(Credit: Mitcher’s)
That we had literally just come from Vendome didn’t matter to him, though. He continued to croak about Michter’s, insisting he had it on good authority they would never open a distillery and added Angel’s Envy to the list for good measure.
This kind wild, loose talk, misinformed or otherwise, reflects the passions that were inflamed when Magliocco revived the Michter’s brand, and I doubt the new still will quiet the discontent. Some naysayers have adjusted their positions and some have fallen silent (for now), but if the response to the new of Michter’s new still is anything to go by, most will go on croaking.
Instead, time seems likely to be the thing that cools things down, especially as some of Michter’s most obnoxious detractors admit to enjoying the company’s products. I’ve long speculated that Michter’s was here to stay and would evolve into a mid-sized distiller, and that they would simply outlast their critics. So long as they make a good product and people go on buying it, Michter’s has a bright future ahead of them, naysaying or no.
An interesting take, Richard, one that mirrors my own experience over the last year. I had been provided a tour of the Michter’s Shively site during construction in the summer of 2013 and spoke later with Rob Sherman, who said that the stills were being built (and that doubler is a beauty!). Until last week, almost no one I mentioned this to took it at face value.
Though they have had identity and marketing missteps along the way, the new Michter’s has always put very good to outstanding whiskey into bottles bearing their label. I have been impressed overall with their sourced product and have no reason to believe that they have any plans to lower their standards now that they’ll be distilling their own product.
This is a solid move; the first by a NDP moving past the easy money and into uncharted territory. I wish them the best and look forward to tasting the finished products.
Sam — I couldn’t agree more. While at one time there was some solid ground for criticizing Michter’s, they have long since taken steps to make the distinction between new KY Michters and old PA Michter’s clear. Now they have their copper to boot. If the point of complaining about deceptive practices was ever about persuading companies to change their ways, Michter’s has done so and the case ought to be dropped. However, some people simply will not let go.
Sounds a lot like Straighbourbon and Reddit to me.
You are right on the money there. Mostly hate and ignorance about this news on those two forums. It’s not hard to see where Thomas and Komlenic are coming from.
Where do these clowns get off? One guy runs a prominent web magazine. The other is an editor at Whisky Advocate. And I’m supposed to believe some anonymous clown on a web forum over them?