Michter's A.H. Hirsch 20 Year Old 1987

Michter's Distillery goes back to the early 18th Century, although it was active under another name and built in Pennsylvania. Today the distillery is found in Kentucky, the heart of bourbon country. They produce a brand of the same name, but they also market a couple of whiskeys under the A.H. Hirsch label. Let me try their 20 Year Old. It was distilled on the 27th February 1987 and bottled in 2007.

The nose needs quite a bit of time to become sweet, but once it has achieved this, it is all about banana. Some nuts as well. Make that a hint of marzipan. Then the typical bourbon sweetness kicks in from the dominating corn in the mashbill. Vanilla and caramel. Not a whole lot more, which is a bit of a disappointment.

It is quite creamy on the palate and immediately honeysweet. The banana from the nose reminds me a bit of Elexir d’Anvers, a liqueur from my neck of the woods. This is joined by citrus, mostly mandarin and lemon. The spices lean towards ginger and white pepper with a pinch of cinnamon.

The finish is not very long, nor memorable.

I have to admit that my expectation for this 20 Year Old were a lot higher. Oh, well.