47 THE NAVIGATOR | FEATURE “The market was very different back then,” recalls Magliocco, co-founder of wine and spirits importer Chatham Imports, and President of Michter’s. “There was little market for age-statement American whiskey, and no market for American rye. So when we went to Kentucky distilleries, they were thrilled that we wanted to look at buying 10-year-old bourbon and 10-year-old American rye.” With a wide range of spirits to choose from Magliocco and his mentor Dick Newman set about creating a style that paid homage to the original Michter’s, while appealing to a modern palate. “There was a lot of great whiskey, in different styles, and we tried to pick a style that we liked, and that we could eventually make ourselves,” says Magliocco. “I had tasted a lot of Pennsylvania Michter’s, and I had some dusty old bottles, so I was familiar with what Pennsylvania Michter’s, specifically the Sour Mash, tasted like. Ultimately, we picked a style that we enjoyed drinking and really loved. In restarting the historic brand, they had to make a crucial decision: where should the whiskey be from. The Pennsylvania Michter’s heritage was rooted in that state’s Blue Mountain Valley, and while Magliocco agonised over leaving the original home of the brand, creating a new home in Kentucky was the logical choice. “Dick Newman told me, ‘if you want to be one of the great American whiskey brands, if you want to be the best, you’ve got to play with the best,” says Magliocco, who was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2023. “And there’s no place in the United States with the whiskey resources – the knowledge, the engineers, the distillers – like Kentucky. And ultimately it was a really good decision.” John Shenk founds Shenk’s whiskey company in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania 1753: Abraham Bomberger buys the distillery from Shenk, renaming it Bomberger’s Mid-1800s: Prohibition hits, and the distillery is closed 1919: After Prohibition ends the distillery reopens, and changes hands numerous times 1933: Owner Lou Forman renames the brand Michter’s after his sons, Michael and Peter 1950s: Michter’s goes bust and the distillery is shuttered 1989: Michter’s is revived, and the distillery moves to Kentucky 1990s: A HISTORY OF MICHTER’S The historic Fort Nelson building in Louisville, KY
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