Michter’s Is Releasing Another Coveted Batch Of 20-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Bottles

With only 479 bottles hitting the market, the rarefied bourbon is commanding a $1,200 price tag.

Any “Best Whiskey of the Year” list that has already been published may have spoken too soon, because Kentucky-based Michter’s distillery still has one last bottle to squeeze in before the year is over: a 20-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon. 

Michter’s is dropping a batch of their coveted 20-Year Bourbon in early December — just in time for the holidays — if you can manage to get your hands on it. The release of Michter’s 20-Year Bourbon can be an annual occurrence, but it’s not always a given. Michter’s first released a 20-year in 2012, using sourced whiskeys because the distillery’s own stills came online (every batch of this whiskey has been sourced).

The most recent “skipped” vintage was in 2023, because the supply wasn’t meeting expectations for that batch. Plenty of things can make a bourbon barreled 20 years ago fall short of expectations — it may be showing less of the expected flavor impact of that time in barrels, or those 20-year-old barrels may be showing dramatic potential to continue aging toward an even older expression down the road.

Old bourbon isn’t always good bourbon — the reason that the majority of bourbon is younger is because the majority of barrels reach their peak in 7-10 years. If every barrel of bourbon in Kentucky was left for 20 years, most would be undrinkably oaky, and some would simply be empty due to evaporation. “To age a whiskey that will taste wonderful after two decades in a first-use barrel is an extremely difficult endeavor that requires a skillful balance of art and science,” said Michter’s President Joseph J. Magliocco.

“Details matter when it comes to aging bourbon gracefully,” said Andrea Wilson, the brand’s master of maturation. “Michter’s 20 Year Bourbon is an exemplary representation of how oak can be used to deepen vanilla, toffee, chocolate, spice, fruit, and confectionery notes that enhance complexity in bourbon.”

Bottled at 114.3 proof, it’s a refreshingly low proof for a rare bottle compared with some of the modern “Hazmat” whiskeys approaching 140 or higher. That’s one of the many reasons why Drinks International named Michter’s “The World’s Most Admired Whiskey” of 2025 back in August (for a third time).

As for the numbers, they’re not pretty. The suggested retail for Michter’s 20 is $1,200, which is pretty high, but with only 479 bottles hitting the market, it’s hard not to see the supply and demand balance for this one as fair. Hopefully, we’ll get to taste it before the year is over. But with so little supply out there, it’s understandable that most people won’t really want to share.

G. Clay Whittaker is a Maxim contributor covering lifestyle, whiskey, cannabis and travel. His work has also appeared in Bon Appetit, Men’s Journal, Cigar Aficionado, Playboy and Esquire. Subscribe to his newsletter Drinks & Stuff for bourbon reviews and trends, perspectives on drinks, and stuff.