49 THE NAVIGATOR | FEATURE Michter’s uses only Grade 1 non-GMO corn, rye and malted barley in its operations. And with an eye on developing a farm-to-bottle lineage, since 2018 Michter’s has also sourced grains from its own 205-acre estate in Springfield, Kentucky. However, quality remains the polestar for the Michter’s team, leading to a few awkward conversations when the Springfield grains are not up to Master Distiller Dan McKee’s exacting standards. “We stand behind our specifications no matter what,” adds Andrea Wilson, Chief Operating Officer at Michter’s. “We’re very proud of the relationships we have with our family farmers, and having our own farm has really given us new respect for that craft.” “We’ve had successes and we’ve had disappointments at Springfield,” adds McKee. “At the end of the day, it’s about quality, so if a crop doesn’t pass our specifications we won’t use it… even if we were the ones to grow it!” Rejecting your own grain may seem uneconomical, but if there’s a single thread tying together all that makes a Michter’s whiskey, it’s the one guiding principle that Magliocco is especially proud of: “Cost be damned”. “I tell the team, whatever you need to do to make the whiskey better, don’t worry about the cost. Our goal is to make the greatest American whiskey,” he says. Corn delivery testing Michter’s Springfield farm, KY
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