Bomberger’s Declaration Bourbon is a mystery to me, and I don’t think much is known about it. To my understanding, it’s a Michter’s bourbon that first appeared in 2018 and is released once a year, with Shenk’s Homestead, to honor Michter’s heritage when it was still located in Pennsylvania and named Bomberger’s / Shenks (depending on the time period).
What makes this Kentucky straight bourbon (from an unknown source) unique, just like Shenk’s Homestead, is that a portion of the bourbon is aged in chinquapin / chinkapin oak, a type of white oak native to the US that’s not as frequently used to create barrels. The only chinquapin-aged bourbon I can think of is Buffalo Trace’s Old Charter Chinkapin Oak, but good luck finding that one. Each year, the blend in Bomberger’s has included more chinquapin-aged bourbon, making every release different. For what it’s worth, I have no idea what this oak does to bourbon that’s different than the usual white oak, but I guess I’ll find out. Even with so much mystery surrounding this bourbon, let’s uncover what we can in this 2020 Bomberger’s Declaration Bourbon review.