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Did the A.H. Hirsch distillery close down?

Alchemist

By Alchemist
in Spirits & Cocktails

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cocktailgeek

cocktailgeek

Posted
Posted

I believe that the bourbon sold as A.H. Hirsch comes from a distillery (Michter's) in Pennsylvania that closed in the late 80's. The reason the prices keep going up is that when it's gone, it's gone.

Marcovaldo Dionysos

Cocktail Geek

cocktailgeek@yahoo.com

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fatdeko

fatdeko

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My understanding when these whiskeys started trickling out about 10 yrs ago goes something like this:

Some years after the Michter's distillery was mothballed, a fairly large cache of the whiskey was discovered still snoring in barrels. The hootch was transferred to storage facilities in Kentucky and released as the 16 yr bottling and named after an exec at Schenley. Another portion of the remainder continued to age in barrels (released as the 20yr old) while yet another fraction was transferred to stainless steel to halt any further maturation. So yes, when it's gone, it's alllll gone.

BTW: The Michter's whiskey that's currently out there is not from the resurrected plant in Pennsylvania. Some other folks have simply purchased the name.

myers

The Thirstin' Howl
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Gary Regan

Gary Regan

Posted
Posted
If you haven't tried yet, you might consider asking the folks at the straightbourbon.com forum. They seem to know everything. :)

As far as I know, everyone here is right about Hirsch. It came from the now defunct Michter's distillery, and when it's gone, it's gone.

Meanwhile, the people who are putting out whiskey under the Michter's name are doing a pretty god job with their ryes, I think. And the new Sazerac 6-year-old is now available in some markets. It's a wonderful cocktail rye.

“The practice is to commence with a brandy or gin ‘cocktail’ before breakfast, by way of an appetizer. Subsequently, a ‘digester’ will be needed. Then, in due course and at certain intervals, a ‘refresher,’ a ‘reposer,’ a ‘settler,’ a ‘cooler,’ an ‘invigorator,’ a ‘sparkler,’ and a ‘rouser,’ pending the final ‘nightcap,’ or midnight dram.” Life and Society in America by Samuel Phillips Day. Published by Newman and Co., 1880.

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Evangelos

Evangelos

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Yes, the Michter's distillery has been closed for some time now. Check this link for more info:

http://www.hirschbourbon.com/

http://www.winebow.com/spirits/hirsch.html

As for the bourbon they released a number of bottles from the old distillery.

AH Hirsch 16 year (1st release of this bourbon with a blue wax top)

AH Hirsch 16 year (1st release of this bourbon with a black wax top. export only)

AH Hirsch 16 year (2nd release of this bourbon with a gold wax top)

AH Hirsch 16 year (3rd release of this bourbon with a gold FOIL top and is the most readily available)

AH Hirsch 20 year (near impossible and has holy grail bourbon)

AH Hirsch 19 year (VERY limited and another holy grail bourbon)

AH Hirsch 15 year (I think there was a 15 year as well, but i am not 100%. Search straightbourbon.com for the answer to that one. Possibly another export only version)

As for why the prices are going up it's because this great bourbon will never be made again. Well, unless you can buy, renovate, and reopen the original michter's distillery as get it going again! ;)

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cocktailgeek

cocktailgeek

Posted
Posted
is it possible to find in a liquor store or from a distributor?  I've seen it at a restuarant I used to work at, but not for a while.

edit for next question: What is "expensive?"

I saw a bottle of the 16yr today at John Walker & Co. (Sutter & Kearny, San Francisco) for $100.

Marcovaldo Dionysos

Cocktail Geek

cocktailgeek@yahoo.com

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eje

eje

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No problem, Snowy.

If anyone is in CA, or can have liquor shipped to your state, some of the BevMo locations appear to still have some of the gold top 16 Year A.H. Hirsch Bourbon for a few dollars less than John Walker & Company.

A.H. Hirsch 16 Year

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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eje

eje

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Isn't there a Hirsch rye out there, too? I would swear I've had Manhattans with it.

Not sure if there ever was a Hirsch Rye from the A.H. Hirsch company; but, the more commonly available one is from Canada.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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eje

eje

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Bevmo link says none available.

If you change the BevMo to pick up at SF-Bayshore, the one closest to me, the website sez they have 8 available currently.

But, $86.99 is too rich for my bourbon budget, unless I get a big payout from uncle sam this year.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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cocktailgeek

cocktailgeek

Posted
Posted
Isn't there a Hirsch rye out there, too? I would swear I've had Manhattans with it.

I saw the Canadian Hirsch @ John Walker as well, but there was a 13 yr Rye available for a time. I don't know if it is still out there, but it was less expensive than the others, and a damn fine rye to boot.

Marcovaldo Dionysos

Cocktail Geek

cocktailgeek@yahoo.com

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eje

eje

Posted
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Did some poking around on the internet.

Preiss Imports, which I guess now owns the Hirsch name and remaining product, makes and/or distributes 4 Ryes under the Hirsch Selections brand.

The Canadian Ryes are made by Glenora Distillers in Nova Scotia and come in 8, 10, and 12 years old.

According to their website, they also distribute a 21 Year Old Kentucky Rye that was distilled in 1983 by Hirsch in Bardstown, KY.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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lancastermike

lancastermike

Posted
Posted

Back in the mid 70's I remember going to the Michters Distillery for a tour. The group was me and two other guys. It was in the little town of Schaeffertown in Lebanon Co Pennsylvania. My Gosh, it had to be 35 years ago and I can still remember the smell of the mash. It was glorious. I certainly recall the pot stills and seeing the warehouse with the barrels of whiskey aging.

I still have a stoneware crock they sold Michters in. It came with a ceramic-topped cork. Regrettably it is empty now. Should have bought lots and hid it somewhere. At the time, what they produced was not considered to be of quality, at least around here. Of course, my whiskey tastes were not very developed in those long ago times

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eatrustic

eatrustic

Posted
Posted

I'm working my way through the second of two 16 year blue tops I bought a few years ago. (A glass in honor of this post as we speak!)

I still have an unopened bottle of the 20 year old that I picked up about 6 years ago and will keep for a rainy day. That's the beauty of whisky over, say, a fine wine. The clock doesn't wind down and it will be as good years from now as when it was bottled.

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Alchemist

Alchemist

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Posted

I thought that A.H. was out of business, so every time i went to this one bar that has it I imbibed. (even if it was with my blood pudding at ten A.M.), but every time I thought they did't have more, another bottle miraciously appeared. I felt like I was beholding the oil burning for eight days. I guess I'll have to keep trying to rid them of their pesky A.H. problem.

A DUSTY SHAKER LEADS TO A THIRSTY LIFE

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  • 2 weeks later...
saylahv

saylahv

Posted
Posted

Hi there friends... I'm in Hollywood, CA...but I like to think that we're sitting together in a cellar somewhere in Kentucky sipping some extraordinary rye from a cask ...

Just so you know...I joined this eFood Forum joint today because of all of you!... your thread has won top honors in the my-favorite-link-doing-research-for-work-Google-search category. I'm the graphics arm for Preiss Imports--importer of fine spirits... ("fine" as you know, translates as "expen$ive")... and he [Henry Preiss] not only distributes the AH Hirsch 16 yr old.. but owns ALL remaining inventory... not that that helps your particular hunt for it... but if you're still in the market, I can find out the who & where's & how much's for you. Also...re: Hirsch Rye... the ones you remember with the ink drawn style labels are discontinued... but inside scoop-wise ... Henry has just bottled a 21 year old Hirsch KENTUCKY rye... and has released 3 Hirsch CANADIAN Ryes: 8, 10 & 12 year olds ... as you might have guessed... he owns the name [Hirsch Selection] as well ... I'm feeling particularly involved with it all right now, cause I designed the new rye labels (not the best work I've ever done.. 1st time in label design) & just finished 80 pages of his biennial catalog ... I've uploaded a sneak peek of Hirsch pages just for you... It includes recipe pages... & might take a few seconds to load..

Preiss Imports

..Any ideas for the cover ??... gotta get it to the printer by week's end... aieee

Anywho... thanks for listening guys..

-say

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