In recent years, the market for ultra luxe, ultra limited American whiskeys has soared to outrageous new heights, and one company that has been there every step of the way is Michter’s. The Louisville, Kentucky distillery has a regular lineup of products such as Michter’s 10 Year Rye that inspire the sort oftypically reserved only for Buffalo Trace brands, with retailers routinely pricing limited Michter’s bottles at 200-400% markups.
This is the first Celebration Sour Mash release since 2019, when the official price tag had already crept up to $5,000. Still, that feels like a bargain when you see what those 2019 bottles are now going for—accordingyou can still score them from several liquor stores. You’ll just have to pay a minimum of $19,000. Ah, and the “average” price for those 2019 bottles being sold by package stores today is roughly $30,000.
Only 328 bottles of the 2022 Edition—it was meant to release last year, but was delayed—of Celebration Sour Mash exist. As for what’s in the bottle, it’s a blend of seven whiskeys , ranging from 12 to more than 30 years of age. As Michter’s Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson puts it: “This whiskey is an exploratory journey of aged bourbons and ryes blended to perfection that leaves your palate captivated with its bold elegance.” It weighs in at 56.
To be frank, I can’t help but find some of the marketing here distasteful—particularly the way that the press release goes on to praise the evolution of the whiskey market since 2013, when the first batch of Celebration Sour Mash was released.
Regardless, check out the video below for some hype-laden reveals of the packaging for a whiskey you’ll probably never manage to see in the flesh.