Head to head · same category, comparable price
Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon vs Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select
No flavour axis separates these two, so the choice is price and occasion.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon | Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Bourbon | Bourbon |
| Origin | Kentucky, United States | Kentucky, United States |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Strength | 45.7% ABV | 45.2% ABV |
| Cask | Fire-charred new American white oak, air-seasoned 18-60 months, toasted before charring | New charred American oak |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £58 | £38 |
| Per 10cl | £8.29 | £5.43 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £181 | £120 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Kentucky whiskies, from different distilleries.
Neither carries an age statement, so neither discloses its youngest spirit.
Cask as each producer describes it: Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon in fire-charred new american white oak, air-seasoned 18-60 months, toasted before charring, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select in new charred american oak.
Neither states chill filtration.
Colour: Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon natural colour, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select silent.
What the price buys
Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon is £20 dearer a bottle than Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select.
Strength keeps that ordering: £120 a litre of pure alcohol for Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select against £181.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon is 25th cheapest and Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select 9th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon | Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet | 7 | 6 |
| Fruity | 5 | 5 |
| Spicy | 6 | 6 |
| Woody | 7 | 6 |
| Sherried | 1 | 1 |
| Cereal | 4 | 4 |
| Oily | 7 | 6 |
No axis reaches the 3-point gap we call meaningful. Widest is sweet, 7 against 6.
Identical on peaty, fruity, spicy, sherried and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Rich caramel and baking spice with unusual depth for the strength. Genuinely small batch.
Actually small batch, unlike most bottles using the phrase: Michter's states each batch is held in a tank sized for a maximum of twenty barrels. It also publishes a barrel entry proof of 103 against the 125 legal maximum, which is unusually low and unusually disclosed.
Full record →Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select
Dried fruit, mint and cocoa. Rounder and less sweet than most at the price.
Woodford is the rare Kentucky bourbon distilled in copper pot stills. The 45.2% we list is the producer's own figure (90.4 proof); a 43.2% UK/EU bottling is widely reported but we could not verify it on any producer or retailer page. Despite common belief, Woodford publishes no mash bill percentages anywhere.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon for sipping neat, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select for mint julep and cocktails that need body.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Michter's US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select: michters.com, woodfordreserve.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.