Bomberger’s PFG Joins the Michter’s Lineup

Bomberger’s Declaration Bourbon, launched in 2014, is a nod to the historical past of its father or mother firm, Michter’s, which was known as Bomberger’s from round 1860 — till Prohibition pressured the distillery’s closure in 1919. Whereas its title displays the previous, the whiskey itself seems to be extra to the longer term. 

For the previous a number of years, the annual Declaration releases had been partly aged in hardly ever used Chinkapin oak, a varietal of American white oak that imparts a distinctively spicy and intense taste profile to the whiskey. Now, Michter’s has pushed its barrel-aging boundaries additional nonetheless with the primary launch of Bomberger’s PFG Kentucky Straight Bourbon, an experimental expression with French oak that Michter’s president Joe Magliocco describes as “a journey into the realm of wooden science and its potential to affect whiskey in quite a lot of methods together with aroma, style, texture and end.”

Bomberger’s PFG (brief for Precision Effective Grain) is a part of the Michter’s Legacy Sequence, which incorporates Bomberger’s Declaration. Very similar to Declaration, PFG’s origins stay a thriller — Michter’s retains mum about whether or not the bourbon is distilled at its Shively, Kentucky distillery or sourced elsewhere. The mashbill can also be undisclosed, save for the requirement that it incorporates at the least 51% corn. 

Nonetheless, what we do know is that after getting old for an unspecified size of time in new American oak, the whiskey is then completed in barrels product of fine-grained French oak from a number of totally different forests inside the area, together with Tronçais, Allier, Nevers, and Vosges. Past that, the staves used for these barrels had been air-dried for at the least 40 months by the Charente River, a meticulous course of meant to boost the whiskey’s complexity. 

However why go to the difficulty? 

“Pure seasoning and air drying enable the barrels to expertise bodily, chemical, and microbiological adjustments that do away with much less fascinating compounds and expose lovely extractives in preparation of the wooden for getting old whiskey,” says Andrea Wilson, Michter’s grasp of maturation. “Kiln drying is quicker and may present bodily adjustments to the wooden, however you miss the chance to change and rework the chemistry and construction of the wooden.” 

The placement of the staves additionally exposes them to that individual microclimate, which, in fact, additional influences the flavour of the whiskey. The size of ending can also be beneath wraps, with Wilson noting, “As a result of experimentation can take years and large effort by our group… we wish to attempt to hold a number of secrets and techniques.” 

As with all of Michter’s releases, PFG is filtered utilizing its customized filtration protocol earlier than bottling. In comparison with Declaration, PFG sports activities a decrease proof, 50.1% ABV versus 54.2%. “We select the very best proof for our merchandise via tastings and analysis of every expression by our inside tasting panel,” says Wilson. “The purpose is to not merely select a proof however select a proof that we imagine creates an pleasing consuming expertise.” 

The distinction between the 2 Bomberger’s is clear even of their look, with PFG sporting a darker, redder hue than Declaration. Wilson describes it as “built-in and sophisticated… bursting with beautiful fruits and spice, surrounded by toasty, candy notes with an elegant bouquet.” She additional characterizes the end as “luxurious, with a creamy mouthfeel that has lingering smooth spice and chocolate.”

Whereas Bomberger’s Declaration isn’t going anyplace, however PFG is right here to remain as nicely. “Our group is so happy with PFG that we have now taken steps to put down extra of it to supply sooner or later,” Wilson says. 

Take heed, although — Bomberger’s expressions change from yr to yr, so this actual taste profile is probably going a one-time-only affair. One this batch is gone, it’s gone for good.