August 14, 2025 • 18 mins
It’s a head-to-head battle of Michter’s 2025 Legacy Series releases — the sweet and delicate Shenk’s Homestead (91.2 proof) vs. the bold and oaky Bomberger’s Declaration (108 proof). I break down their unique cask choices, share full nose/palate impressions, and crown my pick for the better buy. Plus, two distilleries step up big to support flood relief in Kentucky and Texas — proof that good bourbon can do good in the world.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today on the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, two whiskey distilleries are giving back to flood victims
in Kentucky and Texas. Plus, we do a doubleheader review of the two Michter's Legacy Series releases
from 2025, Shenk's Homestead and Bomberger's Declaration. Stay tuned.
(00:29):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Bourbon Bytes Podcast. I'm your host Clifton and this
is the week of Thursday, August 14th, 2025. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode.
If you're new here, hi, welcome. Good to have you. Make sure to follow if you enjoy the show.
Today's going to be a little bit different. I'm going to only feature a couple news stories
because I have not just one, but two bourbons to review this week. So if you saw the title of this
(00:56):
podcast and the image, you already know what we're going to be reviewing. We're going to be reviewing
the brand new 2025 releases of Shenk's and Bomberger's from the Michter's distillery. Now,
I previously gave an update about these releases on a podcast episode a few weeks back. It was the
episode on July 3rd. So if you missed that, make sure to go back and tune into that to hear all
(01:18):
about these releases. I'll give a little bit of a recap before we get into our review, but today's
all going to be about tasting and comparing these two releases and seeing if they are worth the
price, because they have gone up significantly since I last bought a pair of them. So stay tuned
for that. But first, we have a couple news stories, both of which are actually kind of related. It's
(01:38):
kind of similar how these whiskeys are related, but I did want to mention them because they are
both for a good cause. So the first of which is coming to us from J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery.
They are releasing a bourbon to aid local flood sufferers. So if you remember back in April of this
year, there was a flash flood in central Kentucky, particularly affecting the Frankfort, Kentucky
(02:01):
area. The Kentucky River rose to near record levels and impacted not just distilleries, but
people, their livelihoods, you know, their homes. And this distillery is actually going to give back
to the community. Now, fortunately, the J. Mattingly Distillery was spared from any damage due to the
floods, but they wanted to find a way to give back to their local community. So they decided to
(02:23):
a limited edition bourbon called Frankfort Rising and $30 of the sale from each bottle went back
towards the Franklin County Community Fund to assist families affected by the April floods.
Now, the double stave process isn't unique to this release. They've actually done it on a few
other releases, but this one is a charred oak stave that is added after the fact to each barrel
(02:47):
at just the right moment in aging to coax out extra flavor. Now, this is according to their
press release. They say that tasting notes describe this bourbon as having a graham cracker
note on the palate joined by toasted oak and a gentle spice from the rye with a medium to long
finish and lingering baking spice to vanilla and nutty warmth, leaving a satisfying impression.
(03:07):
All those flavor notes sound exactly like the perfect bourbon to me. Now, I've not actually
had much from J. Mattingly. I think I may have had a sample or two, so I'm not super familiar with
their flavor profile, but I do love a bourbon with a good cause. So this was actually coming
out today, August 14th. This is going to be released at the distillery. It's going to be
112 proof when it comes out. I'm not saying anything about the specific number of bottles
(03:32):
here. I do know that this is a limited edition release. Their goal is to raise $10,000 from this
bourbon. So doing some quick math because you guys know I am not the best at figuring these
things out. It looks like it's about 333 bottles of this will be available if I'm doing the $30
(03:53):
per bottle to raise at least $10,000. So there's at least 333 bottles of this based on my calculations.
Now, looking into the Franklin County Community Fund, I like to do a little bit of research before
I recommend giving to an organization. I actually see that this one is really involved in their
community. And here's some facts about it. They are a permanently endowed fund at Bluegrass
(04:16):
Community Foundation that provides support for civic projects and community needs for years to
come. These contributions will go to support the organizations responding to the urgent needs in
the community affected by these floods. They just recently awarded $50,000 to the Resource Office
for Social Ministries to provide immediate assistance to residents impacted by the flooding.
(04:37):
They also set up a multi-agency resource center for those that are affected as well. I don't know
if I mentioned this earlier, but the bottles are $120 at retail. $30 of that is going straight to
the community, which is incredible. So I commend them. Well done. If you guys get a chance to try
this, let me know how it is. I mean, I think it's more of the cause than, you know, the actual whiskey
(04:57):
itself, but it sounds pretty good. I'm excited to hear how it is. Now in a very similar news story,
so this is a callback to a story I did a few weeks back. I mean, almost over a month ago now.
It was the Garrison Brothers Guadalupe release, which was, you know, unfortunately timed around
the timing of the flooding of the Guadalupe River. But they actually, you know, took that moment and
(05:20):
made it into a positive thing by starting the Garrison Brothers Distillery's Guadalupe Relief
Day. They raised $100,000 for Texas flood relief through bourbon sales and community support.
So another example of a bourbon distillery making a huge impact. They pledged $50 from every bottle
(05:40):
of cast rent Guadalupe single barrel that was sold alongside with profits from the whiskey
shack and gift shop merchandise to the cause. So it was actually on July 12th was the day that they
called the relief day where all this kind of came in. They raised an initial $50,000, which was
matched dollar for dollar by Happy State Bank in Fredericksburg. So it brought their total
(06:02):
contribution to $100,000. And those funds were delivered to the Community Foundation of the
Texas Hill Country's Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. That is a big long name, but it's definitely
dedicated strictly for the relief of that flooding. Similar to how, you know, Kentucky
was affected by the flooding in April, Texas was just devastated by those floods. So Garrison
(06:26):
Brothers did team up and set up an online donation page back on July 7th, and it got its first $10,000
in donation matched by private donors. So you can actually still donate to this cause if it's
something that you want to give back to that community. It's going to be active until October
1st, the donation link on their website. So definitely go check that out. And just looking
(06:46):
at the page, I'm seeing a lot of donations from not only individuals, but small businesses in the
area. So always love seeing communities support each other and build each other up, especially
after, you know, devastation hits the area. So I just want to say huge shout out to those folks
for offering an opportunity to give back to the communities that make them who they are and
offering a significant portion of your proceeds to a good cause. I think that's really important,
(07:11):
you know, not that like 1% match thing that a lot of things do, you know, not to say that's anything,
you know, not worth mentioning. I appreciate it more than nothing, but seeing that much per bottle
be given back is really special. So cheers to those two. All right. Well, like I said, this week
is not going to be very news focused because we have two reviews to get to on this week's portion
of Byte Sized Reviews. All right. Well, first up of the 2025 Legacy Series from Michter's Distillery.
(07:46):
Like I said, I covered the announcement of these releases on a podcast a few weeks ago,
but now I'm excited that I had a chance to buy them. They popped up on K&L Wine and Spirits website.
I did pay full retail price for these, maybe a little bit more. I think combined it was around
$300. So the suggested retail on the Shenk's is $110 and the suggested retail on the Bomberger's
(08:09):
is $120. So I paid, you know, maybe 20% more, but I was willing to do it because I knew that
I wanted to get my hands on these releases. So yeah, we're going to start with the Shenk's,
which is the lower cost of the releases. Now, we don't know too much about this. Like I said,
I'm going to, you know, recap the press release just very, very quickly. Now for the 2025 Shenk's
(08:30):
release, what makes it special is because some of the whiskey was finished in French oak toasted,
but not charred barrels. And these are crafted from wood grown in the Vosges forest. Yes,
I love the pronunciation of that because it's not spelled like that at all. It's spelled V-O-S-G-E-S.
But the goal of it was to help accentuate the character of the rye in the whiskey. Now,
(08:51):
another thing that makes this interesting, especially from the Michter's lineup is this
is a Kentucky sour mash whiskey, which as a reminder means they use a portion of the spent
mash from the previous batch that was going and they use it to start the fermentation on the next.
Now with the Shenk's, we do not get an age statement here on the bottle. We just see that it's small
batch. It is, you know, 91.2 proof. So 45.6% ABV. Very little information on the bottle as well.
(09:19):
It's more of like one of those, you know, if you know, you know, it's a special release. I think
the first time I had a Shenk's and Bomberger's was probably back in 2018, 2019. I'd have to go look
on my channel, but it's been more than five years since I've last had one of these. So I had to,
you know, see what it's all about and see if it's worth that $110. Let's go to give the Shenk's
Homestead a nose. Oh, yes. Okay. Yeah, I like that a lot. I mean, I've always said that I've
(09:45):
loved the whiskey coming out of Michter's. I think they have a very solid flavor profile that
kind of is consistent across their entire lineup. Guess they are a little pricier than some other
releases, even like the standard Michter's bourbon or American whiskey, but they're one that I
happily recommend to folks, especially if you're trying to get into, you know, more higher end
whiskey. I think Michter's is always a place to go. Now, do I say jump straight to Shanks Homestead?
(10:06):
We'll find out. We'll see if this is worth, you know, a splurge buy if you are new to it.
But yeah, on the nose, the Shenk's is sweet. It's caramel. It's got a little bit of like a roasted
nuttiness, I think, on the nose. And for only being 91.2 proof, I mean, that's a lot of character
coming off of just the nose alone. The more I know, the more it goes in kind of the direction
of graham cracker. But it has a bit of like a, you know, this is a weird example, but kind of
(10:31):
an egg tart dessert. It kind of has that like, I don't know how you would describe it. It's not
like a sour note, but it's something that kind of has that like egginess on the nose, if that makes
sense. It's kind of like blending savory and sweet together. And that's a that's the thing that I
really like about a lot of bourbon. So I'm hopeful that the palette is going to be just as interesting
as this nose is. So let's go and try this 2025 Legacy Series from Michter's Shenk's Homestead
(10:56):
Sour Mash Whiskey. Cheers. Hmm. Interesting. It definitely doesn't go, you know, it's funny,
I said on the nose, it doesn't have char, which, like I said, it's not a charred barrel. That's
what makes it unique and what makes it an American whiskey. But I see the same thing here. It's got
kind of like a roasty characteristic to it. Not smoky at all. Not necessarily like any of those,
(11:21):
like, you know, strong wood notes that I would get on, like, let's say a bourbon. But this one
just has a little bit of like a like you kind of are roasting some, like I said, almonds or
peanuts or something in that territory. It does coat the palate, but it's with an interesting
sweetness and like a little bit of like a coffee note. You can't really tell much age on this
whiskey because you're not getting that element. I usually can tell, you know, how old a bourbon is
(11:42):
based on how much of that older oak note I'm getting. But this one, it almost feels like
I don't want to say devoid of it because that's the kind of is doing a disservice. But there's not a
oaky backbone that I typically see in a bourbon. That's really unique. I think it is a really good
whiskey. You know, for my palate, I do look for more of those oaky, bold notes. You know,
(12:04):
it's not even a diss on the proof. I just think, you know, this is definitely a lighter, more
delicate whiskey that I'm typically used to drinking, especially at that price point.
I don't want to sound like, you know, a snob, but when I'm paying over $100 for a bourbon,
I would like at least one, an age statement or two, a cask strength release. I just think
$110 is a bit high for this release or it's higher than I would be willing to pay for it.
(12:25):
But I did, and I'll enjoy it. I just don't think I enjoy it that much more than the
Michter's Toasted Sour Mash whiskey they did. What was that? Was that a couple of years ago?
It was like their special release. It was like the Toasted Barrel release. Retail on it was only like
$60. I think that the second batch of it was a bit higher, but this is definitely in that realm.
It's not, it doesn't feel like a special edition release in the way that I expect Shenk's to be.
(12:47):
But we'll see. Maybe it's just the Shenk's. Maybe the Bomberger's Declaration release this year
will be the one that blows me away. So we're going to go ahead and move on to that portion
of this doubleheader byte-sized review. Now the Bomberger's Declaration from 2025 comes in at 108
proof. This one is also a small batch, but it is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. So once again,
(13:10):
they use the chinkapin barrels that they have done in previous releases, and they claim that
wood science and maturation are key to the character of Bomberger's Declaration.
Michter's Master of Maturation, Andrea Wilson, said that she's happy with the result.
We used a spectrum of different barrels constructed from wood, naturally seasoned outdoors,
in varying cases for 18 months to three years to four years to five years, thus changing the
(13:35):
chemistry of the oak's contributions during aging. The result is a bold and multi-dimensional
experience to savor and enjoy. Now like the Shenk's, we do not get an age statement on the whiskey
itself. We're talking about just the seasoning of the casks being up to five years old. So we don't
know. It is a straight bourbon whiskey, so we at least know the minimum age is at least four years
(13:56):
old. But as with the Shenk's, I'd really like to know how old this whiskey is, especially when
I'm paying top dollar for it. Let's go ahead and get the Bomberger's Declaration poured.
Oh on the nose already I can tell that this is much more of what I'm familiar with. I was going
to say it's much older, but that's just because I'm getting that oak influence that I didn't get
on the Shenk's. So I can't necessarily judge that because that is an American whiskey versus a
(14:19):
bourbon. But I will say for me and my palate, I am drawn toward the nose of the Bomberger's
myself. It is dark, it's rich, it's got a bit of cinnamon and some baking spices. It's kind of
reminded me very much of like a fall whiskey. There's almost a bit of an earthiness that kind
reminds me of like a, I don't want to say a tree, like that's kind of weird, but it kind of does
remind me of like the smell of autumn, you know, like the leaves falling on the ground. Yeah,
(14:42):
very different direction than the Shinx and it's definitely more what I'm looking for. So by the
way, I think I mentioned this, but if I forgot, this is 108 proof versus the 91.2 proof of the
Shenk's. So we're jumping up quite a bit. I'll stop nosing it. Let's go ahead and give a taste to the
2025 Bomberger's Declaration. Cheers. Ooh. Okay. Yes. That is a really good bourbon. Oh wow. It
(15:08):
has almost a bit of bitterness on the back end, but like bitter in a good way, like a bitter dark
chocolate. Yeah. I have a good feeling that that bitter and those darker flavors are coming from
that seasoning of the wood. You know, I think drier wood tends to lead to a bit more of the
bitter, you know, darker notes. Younger wood, I think is more of the kind of sour notes. Sometimes
(15:29):
I get on a whiskey. I always say it has like a young wood note. That's usually what I'm referring
to. It has a bit of like a tartness to it. This doesn't have that at all. It's very, very dry,
very rich. And even though I said, you know, this doesn't have an age statement based on palette
alone, I would guess there's a lot of older whiskey that went into this. Would I like them
to have revealed that? Absolutely. Do they need to sell it? No, it's going to sell out no matter
what. It's done it every year since I got it last time. It rarely sits on the shelves unless
(15:53):
it's overpriced. Man, that is really good. That's right up my alley. It's that darker oak. It kind
of reminds me of what I like about some Russell's Reserve picks. They kind of have some of the
similar baking spices notes in there as well, combined with that older age. I think those are
nine years old, if I remember correctly. So it's definitely in that realm of flavor profile. If I
had to guess, you know, age, like I said, I would say like eight or nine, but man, that is a
(16:17):
fantastic bourbon. This will definitely make it into a contender for my top 10 whiskeys of the
year. So if you see these two on the shelves and you can't decide between the two and like, let's
say you can only get one, even if the Shenk's is a little bit cheaper, the Bomberger's to me is a
significantly better buy for your buck. If you do like a bolder, darker, richer oakier whiskey
(16:39):
experience. But if you prefer the sweeter, the lighter, you don't want that much oak influence,
but you want that burst of flavor and especially at a lower proof Shenk's Homestead is a great buy
as well. I just think for me personally, I would probably skip that moving forward. And I would
just get the Bomberger's because the Bomberger's hits every note that I want a good bourbon to be
other than, you know, not being that available and not having an age statement. Those are my
(17:02):
two things that would knock it down from if I were to give it a score that would knock it down a bit.
But yeah, both good releases for what they are. I'm curious to hear what you guys think. Have you
had this year's release from 2025 or have you had other releases of Bomberger's and Shenk's?
Let me know. Leave a comment on the either the YouTube video of this podcast or leave a comment
on our Discord server, which by the way, you guys can find at BourbonBytes.com. Everyone's welcome.
(17:26):
But if you are a Byte Club member, which is our membership program, you get access to some
exclusive rooms like our VIP lounge, our monthly movie night, our private tasting lounge for those
at the higher tiers and much, much more. But we'd love to have you over on BourbonBytes.com. You can
find the merch. You can find the discord, all that fun stuff there. But all right. I think that
does it for this week's episode. I know it's a little bit different than my normal format, but I
(17:49):
did want to make sure I squeezed in both of those reviews since I previously mentioned both of these
on the podcast. Now that I have a chance to try them, I wanted to follow up with the review here
on the podcast. So thank you for listening. Make sure to follow me again on your favorite platform.
I post a new episode every Thursday. And until next time, this has been Bourbon Bytes, whiskey
reviews with a gaming twist. Cheers. I'll talk to you guys next episode.
Today on the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, two whiskey distilleries are giving back to flood victims
in Kentucky and Texas. Plus, we do a doubleheader review of the two Michter's Legacy Series releases
from 2025, Shenk's Homestead and Bomberger's Declaration. Stay tuned.
(00:29):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Bourbon Bytes Podcast. I'm your host Clifton and this
is the week of Thursday, August 14th, 2025. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode.
If you're new here, hi, welcome. Good to have you. Make sure to follow if you enjoy the show.
Today's going to be a little bit different. I'm going to only feature a couple news stories
because I have not just one, but two bourbons to review this week. So if you saw the title of this
(00:56):
podcast and the image, you already know what we're going to be reviewing. We're going to be reviewing
the brand new 2025 releases of Shenk's and Bomberger's from the Michter's distillery. Now,
I previously gave an update about these releases on a podcast episode a few weeks back. It was the
episode on July 3rd. So if you missed that, make sure to go back and tune into that to hear all
(01:18):
about these releases. I'll give a little bit of a recap before we get into our review, but today's
all going to be about tasting and comparing these two releases and seeing if they are worth the
price, because they have gone up significantly since I last bought a pair of them. So stay tuned
for that. But first, we have a couple news stories, both of which are actually kind of related. It's
(01:38):
kind of similar how these whiskeys are related, but I did want to mention them because they are
both for a good cause. So the first of which is coming to us from J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery.
They are releasing a bourbon to aid local flood sufferers. So if you remember back in April of this
year, there was a flash flood in central Kentucky, particularly affecting the Frankfort, Kentucky
(02:01):
area. The Kentucky River rose to near record levels and impacted not just distilleries, but
people, their livelihoods, you know, their homes. And this distillery is actually going to give back
to the community. Now, fortunately, the J. Mattingly Distillery was spared from any damage due to the
floods, but they wanted to find a way to give back to their local community. So they decided to
(02:23):
a limited edition bourbon called Frankfort Rising and $30 of the sale from each bottle went back
towards the Franklin County Community Fund to assist families affected by the April floods.
Now, the double stave process isn't unique to this release. They've actually done it on a few
other releases, but this one is a charred oak stave that is added after the fact to each barrel
(02:47):
at just the right moment in aging to coax out extra flavor. Now, this is according to their
press release. They say that tasting notes describe this bourbon as having a graham cracker
note on the palate joined by toasted oak and a gentle spice from the rye with a medium to long
finish and lingering baking spice to vanilla and nutty warmth, leaving a satisfying impression.
(03:07):
All those flavor notes sound exactly like the perfect bourbon to me. Now, I've not actually
had much from J. Mattingly. I think I may have had a sample or two, so I'm not super familiar with
their flavor profile, but I do love a bourbon with a good cause. So this was actually coming
out today, August 14th. This is going to be released at the distillery. It's going to be
112 proof when it comes out. I'm not saying anything about the specific number of bottles
(03:32):
here. I do know that this is a limited edition release. Their goal is to raise $10,000 from this
bourbon. So doing some quick math because you guys know I am not the best at figuring these
things out. It looks like it's about 333 bottles of this will be available if I'm doing the $30
(03:53):
per bottle to raise at least $10,000. So there's at least 333 bottles of this based on my calculations.
Now, looking into the Franklin County Community Fund, I like to do a little bit of research before
I recommend giving to an organization. I actually see that this one is really involved in their
community. And here's some facts about it. They are a permanently endowed fund at Bluegrass
(04:16):
Community Foundation that provides support for civic projects and community needs for years to
come. These contributions will go to support the organizations responding to the urgent needs in
the community affected by these floods. They just recently awarded $50,000 to the Resource Office
for Social Ministries to provide immediate assistance to residents impacted by the flooding.
(04:37):
They also set up a multi-agency resource center for those that are affected as well. I don't know
if I mentioned this earlier, but the bottles are $120 at retail. $30 of that is going straight to
the community, which is incredible. So I commend them. Well done. If you guys get a chance to try
this, let me know how it is. I mean, I think it's more of the cause than, you know, the actual whiskey
(04:57):
itself, but it sounds pretty good. I'm excited to hear how it is. Now in a very similar news story,
so this is a callback to a story I did a few weeks back. I mean, almost over a month ago now.
It was the Garrison Brothers Guadalupe release, which was, you know, unfortunately timed around
the timing of the flooding of the Guadalupe River. But they actually, you know, took that moment and
(05:20):
made it into a positive thing by starting the Garrison Brothers Distillery's Guadalupe Relief
Day. They raised $100,000 for Texas flood relief through bourbon sales and community support.
So another example of a bourbon distillery making a huge impact. They pledged $50 from every bottle
(05:40):
of cast rent Guadalupe single barrel that was sold alongside with profits from the whiskey
shack and gift shop merchandise to the cause. So it was actually on July 12th was the day that they
called the relief day where all this kind of came in. They raised an initial $50,000, which was
matched dollar for dollar by Happy State Bank in Fredericksburg. So it brought their total
(06:02):
contribution to $100,000. And those funds were delivered to the Community Foundation of the
Texas Hill Country's Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. That is a big long name, but it's definitely
dedicated strictly for the relief of that flooding. Similar to how, you know, Kentucky
was affected by the flooding in April, Texas was just devastated by those floods. So Garrison
(06:26):
Brothers did team up and set up an online donation page back on July 7th, and it got its first $10,000
in donation matched by private donors. So you can actually still donate to this cause if it's
something that you want to give back to that community. It's going to be active until October
1st, the donation link on their website. So definitely go check that out. And just looking
(06:46):
at the page, I'm seeing a lot of donations from not only individuals, but small businesses in the
area. So always love seeing communities support each other and build each other up, especially
after, you know, devastation hits the area. So I just want to say huge shout out to those folks
for offering an opportunity to give back to the communities that make them who they are and
offering a significant portion of your proceeds to a good cause. I think that's really important,
(07:11):
you know, not that like 1% match thing that a lot of things do, you know, not to say that's anything,
you know, not worth mentioning. I appreciate it more than nothing, but seeing that much per bottle
be given back is really special. So cheers to those two. All right. Well, like I said, this week
is not going to be very news focused because we have two reviews to get to on this week's portion
of Byte Sized Reviews. All right. Well, first up of the 2025 Legacy Series from Michter's Distillery.
(07:46):
Like I said, I covered the announcement of these releases on a podcast a few weeks ago,
but now I'm excited that I had a chance to buy them. They popped up on K&L Wine and Spirits website.
I did pay full retail price for these, maybe a little bit more. I think combined it was around
$300. So the suggested retail on the Shenk's is $110 and the suggested retail on the Bomberger's
(08:09):
is $120. So I paid, you know, maybe 20% more, but I was willing to do it because I knew that
I wanted to get my hands on these releases. So yeah, we're going to start with the Shenk's,
which is the lower cost of the releases. Now, we don't know too much about this. Like I said,
I'm going to, you know, recap the press release just very, very quickly. Now for the 2025 Shenk's
(08:30):
release, what makes it special is because some of the whiskey was finished in French oak toasted,
but not charred barrels. And these are crafted from wood grown in the Vosges forest. Yes,
I love the pronunciation of that because it's not spelled like that at all. It's spelled V-O-S-G-E-S.
But the goal of it was to help accentuate the character of the rye in the whiskey. Now,
(08:51):
another thing that makes this interesting, especially from the Michter's lineup is this
is a Kentucky sour mash whiskey, which as a reminder means they use a portion of the spent
mash from the previous batch that was going and they use it to start the fermentation on the next.
Now with the Shenk's, we do not get an age statement here on the bottle. We just see that it's small
batch. It is, you know, 91.2 proof. So 45.6% ABV. Very little information on the bottle as well.
(09:19):
It's more of like one of those, you know, if you know, you know, it's a special release. I think
the first time I had a Shenk's and Bomberger's was probably back in 2018, 2019. I'd have to go look
on my channel, but it's been more than five years since I've last had one of these. So I had to,
you know, see what it's all about and see if it's worth that $110. Let's go to give the Shenk's
Homestead a nose. Oh, yes. Okay. Yeah, I like that a lot. I mean, I've always said that I've
(09:45):
loved the whiskey coming out of Michter's. I think they have a very solid flavor profile that
kind of is consistent across their entire lineup. Guess they are a little pricier than some other
releases, even like the standard Michter's bourbon or American whiskey, but they're one that I
happily recommend to folks, especially if you're trying to get into, you know, more higher end
whiskey. I think Michter's is always a place to go. Now, do I say jump straight to Shanks Homestead?
(10:06):
We'll find out. We'll see if this is worth, you know, a splurge buy if you are new to it.
But yeah, on the nose, the Shenk's is sweet. It's caramel. It's got a little bit of like a roasted
nuttiness, I think, on the nose. And for only being 91.2 proof, I mean, that's a lot of character
coming off of just the nose alone. The more I know, the more it goes in kind of the direction
of graham cracker. But it has a bit of like a, you know, this is a weird example, but kind of
(10:31):
an egg tart dessert. It kind of has that like, I don't know how you would describe it. It's not
like a sour note, but it's something that kind of has that like egginess on the nose, if that makes
sense. It's kind of like blending savory and sweet together. And that's a that's the thing that I
really like about a lot of bourbon. So I'm hopeful that the palette is going to be just as interesting
as this nose is. So let's go and try this 2025 Legacy Series from Michter's Shenk's Homestead
(10:56):
Sour Mash Whiskey. Cheers. Hmm. Interesting. It definitely doesn't go, you know, it's funny,
I said on the nose, it doesn't have char, which, like I said, it's not a charred barrel. That's
what makes it unique and what makes it an American whiskey. But I see the same thing here. It's got
kind of like a roasty characteristic to it. Not smoky at all. Not necessarily like any of those,
(11:21):
like, you know, strong wood notes that I would get on, like, let's say a bourbon. But this one
just has a little bit of like a like you kind of are roasting some, like I said, almonds or
peanuts or something in that territory. It does coat the palate, but it's with an interesting
sweetness and like a little bit of like a coffee note. You can't really tell much age on this
whiskey because you're not getting that element. I usually can tell, you know, how old a bourbon is
(11:42):
based on how much of that older oak note I'm getting. But this one, it almost feels like
I don't want to say devoid of it because that's the kind of is doing a disservice. But there's not a
oaky backbone that I typically see in a bourbon. That's really unique. I think it is a really good
whiskey. You know, for my palate, I do look for more of those oaky, bold notes. You know,
(12:04):
it's not even a diss on the proof. I just think, you know, this is definitely a lighter, more
delicate whiskey that I'm typically used to drinking, especially at that price point.
I don't want to sound like, you know, a snob, but when I'm paying over $100 for a bourbon,
I would like at least one, an age statement or two, a cask strength release. I just think
$110 is a bit high for this release or it's higher than I would be willing to pay for it.
(12:25):
But I did, and I'll enjoy it. I just don't think I enjoy it that much more than the
Michter's Toasted Sour Mash whiskey they did. What was that? Was that a couple of years ago?
It was like their special release. It was like the Toasted Barrel release. Retail on it was only like
$60. I think that the second batch of it was a bit higher, but this is definitely in that realm.
It's not, it doesn't feel like a special edition release in the way that I expect Shenk's to be.
(12:47):
But we'll see. Maybe it's just the Shenk's. Maybe the Bomberger's Declaration release this year
will be the one that blows me away. So we're going to go ahead and move on to that portion
of this doubleheader byte-sized review. Now the Bomberger's Declaration from 2025 comes in at 108
proof. This one is also a small batch, but it is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. So once again,
(13:10):
they use the chinkapin barrels that they have done in previous releases, and they claim that
wood science and maturation are key to the character of Bomberger's Declaration.
Michter's Master of Maturation, Andrea Wilson, said that she's happy with the result.
We used a spectrum of different barrels constructed from wood, naturally seasoned outdoors,
in varying cases for 18 months to three years to four years to five years, thus changing the
(13:35):
chemistry of the oak's contributions during aging. The result is a bold and multi-dimensional
experience to savor and enjoy. Now like the Shenk's, we do not get an age statement on the whiskey
itself. We're talking about just the seasoning of the casks being up to five years old. So we don't
know. It is a straight bourbon whiskey, so we at least know the minimum age is at least four years
(13:56):
old. But as with the Shenk's, I'd really like to know how old this whiskey is, especially when
I'm paying top dollar for it. Let's go ahead and get the Bomberger's Declaration poured.
Oh on the nose already I can tell that this is much more of what I'm familiar with. I was going
to say it's much older, but that's just because I'm getting that oak influence that I didn't get
on the Shenk's. So I can't necessarily judge that because that is an American whiskey versus a
(14:19):
bourbon. But I will say for me and my palate, I am drawn toward the nose of the Bomberger's
myself. It is dark, it's rich, it's got a bit of cinnamon and some baking spices. It's kind of
reminded me very much of like a fall whiskey. There's almost a bit of an earthiness that kind
reminds me of like a, I don't want to say a tree, like that's kind of weird, but it kind of does
remind me of like the smell of autumn, you know, like the leaves falling on the ground. Yeah,
(14:42):
very different direction than the Shinx and it's definitely more what I'm looking for. So by the
way, I think I mentioned this, but if I forgot, this is 108 proof versus the 91.2 proof of the
Shenk's. So we're jumping up quite a bit. I'll stop nosing it. Let's go ahead and give a taste to the
2025 Bomberger's Declaration. Cheers. Ooh. Okay. Yes. That is a really good bourbon. Oh wow. It
(15:08):
has almost a bit of bitterness on the back end, but like bitter in a good way, like a bitter dark
chocolate. Yeah. I have a good feeling that that bitter and those darker flavors are coming from
that seasoning of the wood. You know, I think drier wood tends to lead to a bit more of the
bitter, you know, darker notes. Younger wood, I think is more of the kind of sour notes. Sometimes
(15:29):
I get on a whiskey. I always say it has like a young wood note. That's usually what I'm referring
to. It has a bit of like a tartness to it. This doesn't have that at all. It's very, very dry,
very rich. And even though I said, you know, this doesn't have an age statement based on palette
alone, I would guess there's a lot of older whiskey that went into this. Would I like them
to have revealed that? Absolutely. Do they need to sell it? No, it's going to sell out no matter
what. It's done it every year since I got it last time. It rarely sits on the shelves unless
(15:53):
it's overpriced. Man, that is really good. That's right up my alley. It's that darker oak. It kind
of reminds me of what I like about some Russell's Reserve picks. They kind of have some of the
similar baking spices notes in there as well, combined with that older age. I think those are
nine years old, if I remember correctly. So it's definitely in that realm of flavor profile. If I
had to guess, you know, age, like I said, I would say like eight or nine, but man, that is a
(16:17):
fantastic bourbon. This will definitely make it into a contender for my top 10 whiskeys of the
year. So if you see these two on the shelves and you can't decide between the two and like, let's
say you can only get one, even if the Shenk's is a little bit cheaper, the Bomberger's to me is a
significantly better buy for your buck. If you do like a bolder, darker, richer oakier whiskey
(16:39):
experience. But if you prefer the sweeter, the lighter, you don't want that much oak influence,
but you want that burst of flavor and especially at a lower proof Shenk's Homestead is a great buy
as well. I just think for me personally, I would probably skip that moving forward. And I would
just get the Bomberger's because the Bomberger's hits every note that I want a good bourbon to be
other than, you know, not being that available and not having an age statement. Those are my
(17:02):
two things that would knock it down from if I were to give it a score that would knock it down a bit.
But yeah, both good releases for what they are. I'm curious to hear what you guys think. Have you
had this year's release from 2025 or have you had other releases of Bomberger's and Shenk's?
Let me know. Leave a comment on the either the YouTube video of this podcast or leave a comment
on our Discord server, which by the way, you guys can find at BourbonBytes.com. Everyone's welcome.
(17:26):
But if you are a Byte Club member, which is our membership program, you get access to some
exclusive rooms like our VIP lounge, our monthly movie night, our private tasting lounge for those
at the higher tiers and much, much more. But we'd love to have you over on BourbonBytes.com. You can
find the merch. You can find the discord, all that fun stuff there. But all right. I think that
does it for this week's episode. I know it's a little bit different than my normal format, but I
(17:49):
did want to make sure I squeezed in both of those reviews since I previously mentioned both of these
on the podcast. Now that I have a chance to try them, I wanted to follow up with the review here
on the podcast. So thank you for listening. Make sure to follow me again on your favorite platform.
I post a new episode every Thursday. And until next time, this has been Bourbon Bytes, whiskey
reviews with a gaming twist. Cheers. I'll talk to you guys next episode.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com