170: How Michter's Distillery is Driving the Resurgence of Rye Whiskey

We are on location at the Michter’s Distillery in Shively (Louisville) Kentucky for this episode.  We sit down with Dan McKee and Andrea Wilson and share an incredible rye whiskey flight as we discuss the brand, its origin, and its growth into the future.  We discuss Dan’s role as Master Distiller and Andrea’s as Master of Maturation as we enjoy this flight of a single barrel Rye, a 10 Year Rye, Barrel Strength Rye, and Toasted Barrel Strength Rye Whiskey.

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About Dan McKee:

Born and bred in Indiana, Michter’s Master Distiller Dan McKee moved to Kentucky to pursue his dream of making whiskey. He began his career in the bourbon industry as a Distillery Operator at Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. After two years of hands-on experience making some of the industry’s leading bourbons and ryes, he was promoted to Distillery Supervisor at Booker Noe Distillery, where he worked for seven years. At that distillery, Dan reported to Pam Heilmann and gained valuable experience in all aspects of whiskey distilling. After being brought to Michter’s Distillery by Ms. Heilmann, he played an integral role in assisting with the construction of the company’s new Shively Distillery, and along with Ms. Heilmann and Andrea Wilson he built the company’s current production team. Dan has continued to expand the company’s operations with his work to bring Michter’s Fort Nelson distillery online with its legendary pot stills and cypress wood fermenters from the original Michter’s Pennsylvania operation. With his expertise in grain, Dan has played a key role in working with our local farmers to coordinate the planting schedules on Michter’s 205-acre parcel in Springfield, Kentucky. Having graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University, Dan serves as Michter’s technical representative on the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

About Andrea Wilson:

Andrea is Michter's Master of Maturation as well as its Executive Vice President - General Manager. As Michter's Master of Maturation, Andrea manages barrel specifications, barrel procurement, heat cycling and temperature monitoring during aging, tracking maturation of barrels, whiskey filtration in preparation for bottling, and innovation to continue to improve the aging process. Becoming the first woman to ever serve as Chair of the Kentucky Distillers' Association is among the many honors achieved by Andrea during her illustrious career. Andrea is admired for her accomplishments in the whiskey industry and has been involved in all aspects of making Michter's whiskeys. Before joining Michter's, Andrea spent over ten years with Diageo in various whiskey related positions including Director of Distillation and Maturation, North America - overseeing both the U.S. and Canadian distillation and maturation programs. Prior to her departure from Diageo she was the company’s Director of Whiskey Strategy for North American operations. She holds a Master of Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Louisville, and she has been highlighted in the KET television documentary, Kentucky Bourbon Tales: Distilling the Family Business.

About Michter’s Process:

Cooperage
We Pay Careful Attention to the Wood Used in the Construction of Our Barrels.  We are specifying wood that has been thoroughly and properly dried, sometimes for as long as 18-48 months, in order to enhance the natural properties of the wood which allow for better flavor and to reduce the levels of tannin imparted to the whiskey.

Toasting & Charring
The Barrels Made to Our Specifications Are Toasted Before Charring.  Toasting a barrel before charring helps to make the wood’s sugars more accessible. These sugars caramelize and concentrate to form the "red line" in the barrel stave cross-sections due to the heat, ultimately adding more flavor and color to the whiskey as it seeps through the char to the caramel red line.

Low Entry Proof
We Enter Our Rye and Bourbon Into Barrels at 103 Proof (51.5% ABV). Although the typical industry entry proof is 125 proof, we believe that the lower 103 proof (51.5% ABV) level – which was historically regarded as the gold standard in Kentucky – allows for the concentrated sugars in the toasted and charred wood to dissolve more readily into the distillate as it cycles in and out of the barrel. Even though the lower entry proof yields fewer bottles per barrel, we believe that the smooth flavor and richer mouthfeel makes it worth it.

Heat Cycling
We Heat Cycle Our Barrels During Their Aging.  The more often whiskey expands and contracts ("cycles") soaking in and then out of the wood of the barrel, the more flavor it absorbs from the sugars in the caramelized red line of the wood. Heat cycling is an uncommon practice used to raise and lower the temperatures in the barrel warehouses to induce extra cycles within a given year. This practice is extremely costly because heat cycling significantly increases the "Angel Share" evaporation during aging, but in most cases enhances the flavor of the whiskey.

Chill Filter
At our distillery, we chill filter all of our whiskeys instead of using carbon filtration that can strip out flavor and aroma. Moreover, rather than use the one size fits all approach of many distillers, we use the different filtration mediums and techniques best suited to each of our individual whiskey offerings – despite it being time consuming and costly – to highlight each expression’s best qualities.

 

Show Links:

• Michter's Distillery 
• Michter's American Whiskeys 
• Andrea Wilson Featured in Gear Patrol's 20 Women Who Are Making Waves in Whiskey 
• All 17 Bottles Of Michter's Whiskey -- Tested, Reviewed, And Ranked 
• 13 Things You Should Know About Michter's | VinePair 
• Michter's – Kentucky Bourbon Trail 
• After 10,000 Years, Rye Is Having Its Moment - The Whiskey Wash
• Michter's 10 Year Bourbon Release Held Back Until 2023
• American whiskey distiller breaks down major supply disruptions amid Russia-Ukraine war 
• Small Business Big Mission: Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery - Louisville Business First