Michter's Distillery 10 Year Old Rye is the brainchild of master distiller Willie Pratt. Pratt, a maturation perfectionist with over forty years of distilling experience, is known as "Dr. No"since he often refuses to bottle aging barrels of whiskey. According to Pratt, whiskey that is aged for over a decade hits a "fork in the road,"and can either become incredible or unpalatable. "One of the barrels we sampled was unbelievably woody," Magliocco says. "And we reject that, we literally sewer it. Willie had another barrel that tasted delicious, but the consistency was like molasses, and we obviously couldn't sell that."

Inside each bottle of Directors' Reserve is a story. One that embodies the lore and legacy of the Pendleton Round-Up- an iconic symbol of rodeo heritage. Aged for twenty years, it's clear the wait was worth it from the very first sip. Pure, glacier-fed spring water from Oregon's Mt. Hood allows the unadorned, warm notes of oak, cinnamon, and rye to shine through. A little water or an ice cube opens up orange spice, vanilla, and caramel, followed by a mature and mellow finish. An exceptional whisky that deserves to be showcased, the bottle is wrapped in a leather sleeve with tooling crafted by third-generation saddle maker Randy Severe, whose family has made custom saddles for nearly 70 years. Enjoy neat to truly savor the inextinguishable soul of the American West. With Directors' Reserve, age has never looked or tasted better.