Boone's Knoll 1974 16 Year Old Straight Bourbon

Distilled in Spring 1974, this bourbon is bottled from a single 400 barrel batch commissioned by Adolph Hirsch and distilled under contract at Michter's distillery (then known as Pennco), just outside Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Hirsch was a former Schenley executive who had briefly worked at Michter's during his time there, and it is believed he commissioned the whisky as financial favour to the distillery, and actually had little plans for its use. So, it lay ageing in the warehouses for much longer than generally expected for a bourbon at the time. 

With the closure of Michter's distillery, the bourbon was sold by Hirsch to Gordon Hue in 1989, who set about bottling it immediately. Responsibility for the early bottling was entrusted to Julian Van Winkle III at his Old Commonwealth site in Lawrenceburg and together they established one of American whiskey's most collectable brands, the A.H. Hirsch Reserve. Predominantly destined for the Japanese market, there were a variety of presentations at every age-statement between 15 and 20 years old, and even the occasional barrels bottled as other brands, such as Colonel Randolph or in this case, Boone’s Knoll