Review: Michter’s US-1 Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash Whiskey 2025

Not technically a bourbon or a rye, Sour Mash remains one of Michter’s well-kept secrets and helps to set the brand apart from other, more straightforward American whiskey lineups. The Toasted Barrel Finish expression of this whiskey, which arrived in its third installment in September, is even more unique. As with all other Toasted takes, this one undergoes an unspecified amount of aging in a second toasted, not charred, barrel. In this case, that secondary barrel has been made from 18-month air-dried staves that have been toasted to Michter’s exacting specifications. Of all the Michter’s limited edition whiskeys, both iterations of Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash have stood out not least because of their impressive approachability. Let’s see if that trend continues in this latest installment.

Michter’s US-1 Toasted Barrel Finish Sour Mash Whiskey 2025 Review

The nose on the 2022 release showed a pronounced caramel quality and that classic Michter’s chocolate-covered mint, but this latest offering delivers a softer woodspice with notes of cinnamon sugar, Belgian cocoa powder, and an airy vanilla note, almost marshmallow fluff. As it opens, the toasted oak piles on more, adding a richness to those early aromas and transforming it into a sweet breakfast of well-fried French Toast with dark maple syrup.

The palate is, once again, effortless yet still full-flavored despite how easy going everything seems. Early notes of Werther’s Originals and orange blossom honey accentuate an almost syrupy texture. The banana note from previous releases is somewhat muted by pie spice with the rye component in this whiskey shining perhaps just a little more than previous releases. That same slight uptick in spice accentuates a pleasantly drying midpalate that delivers warm oak, bruleed sugar, a hint of candle smoke, and candied orange peel notes before a generous, mildly peppery finish of mint tea, ginger candies, and chocolate-covered caramels. Three in a row and I continue to be impressed by how much flavor Michter’s packs into such an easy drinking whiskey.

86 proof. Reviewed: Batch No. 25H2803.

A- / $110 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

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