Palate:  Unexpectedly dry:  dried corn kernels, hay, some white wine notes, fairly flat by the end with some bitterness late in the palate.

Finish:  Short, a bit bitter and a bit sour.

I tasted this blind and was surprised at the reveal because I had remembered it as a decent bourbon.  Well, perhaps not as good as I recalled (or not as good as it used to be). 

This bourbon was distilled at the Pennco Distillery in 1974 (in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania -- not long after this was distilled, the distillery was purchased in foreclosure and renamed Michter's).  Adolf Hirsch, a former Schenley executive, had commissioned the whiskey to be distilled.  It then aged until 1989, when the distillery was once again in foreclosure.  Hirsch then sold the whiskey to the Hue Family (Kentucky) in 1990.  Although most of the stock was transferred into stainless steel tanks (which halted the age at 16 years, see A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16), some was further held in barrels and bottled at 18, 19, and 20 years. 

For more info see this Chuck Cowdery blog entry.  

This legendary bottling turns out to be, yes, extremely tasty and dangerously drinkable on top of that. A mildly-sweet number (meaning there's a tinge more sweetness than I'd expect for 20 years) that pleases without being very complex, and with a richness that's satisfying without being overwhelming.

And that's the extent of my notes, because it's all I managed to jot down while I was overwhelmed by the excitement of discovering a mostly-full bottle of this on the backbar of a restaurant somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.

I drank as much of it as I could, but I left some for you... if you find it!

Admittedly this is one of very few whiskies where I nudged my grade into the next category simply due to the pure thrill and fun that comes with being able to drink this.  It's really a solid B+/A-. 

This bourbon was distilled at the Pennco Distillery in 1974 (in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania -- not long after this was distilled, the distillery was purchased in foreclosure and renamed Michter's).  Adolf Hirsch, a former Schenley executive, had commissioned the whiskey to be distilled.  It aged until 1989, when the distillery was once again in foreclosure.  Hirsch then sold the whiskey to the Hue Family (Kentucky) in 1990.  Most of the stock was transferred to stainless steel tanks, effectively ending the aging process at 16 years old.  The first release seems to have been bottled in 1990 for Japan (black wax?), with subsequent US releases (blue wax, gold wax dumpy, gold wax tall). Preiss Imports (San Francisco) bought the rights to the remaining stock in 2003. The last version (gold foil) was bottled for Preiss by Buffalo Trace, overseen by Julian Van Winkle (the grandson of Pappy Van Winkle).

For more info see this Chuck Cowdery blog entry. 

First nosing reveals a very pungent and woody nose, with strong nutmeg and black tea aromas hiding some lighter cinnamon notes.   Well, it's definitely whiskey, and If I had a guess I would say it's a bourbon with some wheat in the mash bill.   

The palate is quite oily with an unusual mouth feel.   I suspect this is now a bit under proof due to evaporation and that may explain it.   Despite the oily texture, it's not sweet at all, quite dry, woody, and tannic with strong notes of tea and tobacco.   But not bad at all!  

Very hard to give a grade to something like this.   I can't say I want to drink a lot of this, but that's partially the fear factor, who really knows what's in this bottle.   It was not too long before this time that adulteration of whiskey was rampant, so it's possible those tea notes I detected are in fact tea!   I'll give it a B, because it's a whisky worth trying that you might want to own.  

When you get a sample marked "Danger Drink at Own Risk," you know you're in for a wild ride, so here we go...

It smells syrupy.  I can detect some feint whiskey notes, maybe some weak rye, but it certainly doesn't scream whiskey at me.  There are even some salty/seaweed notes on the nose.  There's also some wood, but it's not exactly oak, more like an old dusty cabinet.  Definitely some medicinal notes and some bitterness.

Dare I taste it?  I do.

It's not unpleasant, but not very whiskey like.  There are anise notes and a lot of peppermint type flavors, then it settles into an iced tea flavor profile, then I get some rye spice.  On second taste it tastes like iced tea with a little bit of rye whiskey in it.  It goes down like iced tea too, very smooth/weak tasting.

Finish:  My jaw feels stiff.

It's an interesting flavor profile...maybe that's the lead or whatever is in this stuff.  Worth trying?  Definitely, so B- it is.