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Do any of you feel that the current whiskey under the newer labeled bottles of A H Hirsch 16 taste different from the older labeled bottles?

Personally I do find the two to taste different, and have heard others ellude to this being the case with their personal taste.

Aside from the clever trick and explanation as to how the bottle was switched, I also find there to be some fuzzy math here. From some figures I was quoted it would seem that this whiskey should already be completely depleted.

When I first tried the new label stuff, it seemed a little thinner and less sweet than I remembered. One of my local friends had an old bottle and we drank them side by side. My initial impression was confirmed.

You can see the 3 different US release style bottles of Hirsch 16 by typing Hirsch 16 into the whiskey reviews database. The original had blue wax and a more scriptive label looking more like the 20, the 2nd has gold wax and a label redesign and the final release that was done last year kept the same label as the 2nd but added a foil cap instead of gold wax.

I totally agree, there is a difference between this latest and last release of Hirsch and the first 2. This latest and last release is not as smooth and flavorful as the previous. I found it to be a bit harsher and not as 'refined'. They say that storing it in the stainless shouldnt have any adverse reaction but something had to happen to it being in there so long because I along with others the same day immediately noted a difference when comparing it to the 2nd generation bottling.

It still is a good whiskey though for the $40 it was selling for when this last release first came out. Already though the price has gone up to I think over $60 at some/most places.

Mark wrote:Already though the price has gone up to I think over $60 at some/most places.

This is true, though Sam's sells it for $40, still.

Curmudgeon wrote:

Mark wrote:Already though the price has gone up to I think over $60 at some/most places.

This is true, though Sam's sells it for $40, still.

I think even Sams has raised their price For those who have never tried it before though, I'd still give it a go... It's the last time to get it.

Thanks for the correction. I just bought another bottle from them a few weeks ago. I guess I just got it in time! Incidentally, the two I compared in my previous post were the original (blue wax) with the most recent (foil) bottling.

I don't believe that I've had the older version, although Mark was a gent and shared a pour of one of his 20's with me for a side by side with my newer 16. We both liked the 20 slightly more while Ben is a die-hard on the 16. We drink the latest 16 often at home.

I have the 16 for $70 on my shelf. The price went up recently around $200 a case extra wholesale. No way I could buy it now and sell it for even $70. I bought all I could afford before the price increase to try to keep my price at $70.

It's good to know that I'm not losing my palate & mind.

I've often wondered about the whole stainless steel storage situation. Honestly I was not aware there were 3 releases of the 16. I have seen a mysterious bottle proclaimed to be 19 years of age (again wondering about that whole stainless steel storage thing). . .

My experience was laid out nicely by Mark, not as refined sums it up. The two compared, the old release was more eloquent, where as by comparison the newer release was a tad mediocre (in comparison).

I still drink and enjoy the newer stuff but I know it's not the same whiskey at least not in taste.

I have seen a mysterious bottle proclaimed to be 19 years of age (again wondering about that whole stainless steel storage thing). . .

There is a pic of the 19 in the database, I was lucky enough to find one about a year ago. When I found it (on the net w/o seeing it) I thought it had to be a mistake. Then when it arrived I was in shock. After some talks with Julian who bottled the early Hirsch he went through his records and did find that they bottled almost 120 cases of the 19 yo before the 20yo. I guess it was a 'test batch' or something. So since it was done before the 20 even and spent the least time in the stainless I am curious to just how amazing it may be! I guess I wont know though for some years as there is no way that particular bottle is getting opened now

Superb run-through of the saga of Hirsch/Michter's.

I find peoples' palates in tune with mine, the first two bottlings of the 16 were the best, the last, foil version less so but still good.

But the 20 was the best, possibly the best aged straight whiskey I have had.

Gary

I still have a few bottles of the gold-wax (second bottling) 16yo, and found it grew on me as the first bottle emptied. I have just a single example of the blue-wax first bottling which I won't open anytime soon, but knew, at last look, where there were still some gold-wax bottles still on the shelf in my area at around $75 a bottle. I might just go back for one more.
I also lucked across a mini-stash of 6 bottles of Hirsch 20 in Indiana at a great price just before Christmas, which disappeared to acquaintances almost as soon as I got home. I still have one bottle, to which someone else has a greater claim, so I won't wind up with any. I just think of it as 'catch-and-release'.
But, I find the plain old Michter's whiskey to be the best of what I've tasted. A decanter I took to the Festival last September seemed to turn heads. The decanter was from 1978, so the whiskey -- presumably 4 years old -- would have been distilled about the same time, and alongside, the Hirsch whiskey. The absence of the heavy wood left as pleasant a plain rye flavor as I believe I have ever had.

Here are a couple of interesting links about the historical, but now-defunct, Michter's Distillery in Shaefferstown, PA:

http://web.tampabay.rr.com/ybfowler/legacy.htm by a Bomberger descendant

same poster, another version:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6926/distilry.htm

Can Hirsch 16 still be bought? And so where in the world?

oh yeah, the last bit of it was bottled last year... You can probably find it online at http://www.samswine.com or http://www.binnts.com Or just try different stores while out and about from your normal close to home places.

As for out of the US I am pretty certain it can still be had in Europe and even Japan as well but at higher prices than here in the US. When the last bottling came out last year it was around $40 but since has increased a decent amount...

Thanks Mark. Im a bit of a rookie, I did'n't know what sams was. Now I do . Thanks again.