A. H. HIRSCH Reserve 16 Year Old Blue Wax

A. H. Hirsch Reserve 16 Year Old Blue Wax — one of the most historically significant American bourbon bottles ever commercially released, the legendary Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania-distilled expression that defines pre-modern era Pennsylvania straight bourbon. The Blue Wax seal identifies this as a premium presentation of the 16-year expression.

A. H. Hirsch Reserve was distilled at the Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania in 1974 and 1975 — a facility that closed permanently in 1990. The whiskey sat in bonded storage for over a decade before Preiss Imports began releasing it. The 16-year age statement at 90.4 proof represents the most celebrated expression of what was saved from the Schaefferstown warehouses: Pennsylvania pot still bourbon distillate from a facility that no longer exists, producing a style of American whiskey that can never be exactly replicated.

The Blue Wax seal distinguishes this from the Gold Wax version also known in the collector market. The Hirsch 16 Year is among the most universally acclaimed American whiskeys ever produced — a fixture on the short list of the most important 20th-century American whiskey releases.

Specs

• Distillery: Michter's Distillery, Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania (closed 1990)
• Bottler: Preiss Imports
• Style: Pennsylvania Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Pot Still
• Age: 16 years
• Proof: 90.4 (45.2% ABV)
• Seal: Blue Wax
• Size: 750ml

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is A. H. Hirsch Reserve considered among the greatest American whiskeys?

Distilled at the Michter's facility in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania — a pot still distillery that closed permanently in 1990 — using techniques and equipment that no longer exist anywhere in American whiskey. At 16 years the bourbon had developed complexity that the pot still process, the Pennsylvania grain, and the regional aging conditions produced in a way impossible to replicate. It represents the last commercial expression of a distilling tradition that ended with the facility's closure.