My bourbon score for the day

einsteinjon

einsteinjon

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Hi all...I figured the fellow drinkers around here might enjoy this post. Went to my local liquor store today - the one I go to for selection, not price - and had every intention of buying a handle of Wild Turkey 101, which my usual liquor store doesn't carry. I got to looking around and noticed some Van Winkle bourbon. I remembered back when Bossman was talking about grinding the GFDs, and said he had been enjoying 23 y.o. Pappy Van Winkle. Well the store had a bottle, but I couldn't find it in me to drop $250 for it. I "settled" on a $35 bottle of 10 year Old Rip Van Winkle. The guy at the store said this stuff has become so rare the 2 bottles he had were probably all he'd get in for the year (might have been trying to pull some marketing on me, I don't know).

I brought it home and took a small sip from the bottle, just to see. WOOOWWWWWW!!!!!! Amazing stuff! I looked online to see if I could find pricing for other varieties, it was that good. I quickly realized the guy at the liquor store probably wasn't lying, as most online retailers were out of stock of all varieties, or had upsetting prices. I remembered seeing a bottle of 20 y.o. Pappy Van Winkle at the store for $87, so I raced back to buy that one and the other 10 y.o. they had. The guy laughed and said he thought he may be seeing me again today :D. I figured not only was it a great price compared to what I saw online, but they actually had it in stock!

Anyway, I have yet to taste the 20 y.o., but the couple small sips I've had of the 10 y.o. so far are absolutely DELICIOUS! Thanks to Bossman for putting the idea in my head!

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Cool... I'll have to keep an eye out for that. Deer season is coming up, and I've found that bourbon makes excellent aiming fluid.:) :thumbup:
 
Nice score. I love the Van Winkle whiskies, and that's a good one.

For what it's worth - ORVW 10yr/90proof isn't particularly rare, but certainly not as abundant as WT101. Most Van Winkle products only ship once a year these days, usually in October, so this is the time of year when you'll find the least on the shelves.

The 20yr, on the other hand, IS fairly rare in that it's from the now defunct (since 1991) Stitzel-Weller Distillery (where Pappy himself used to be the Master Distiller). That's some great whiskey, and a part of American History you can drink.

If you like the ORVW 10yr/90 proof - try the 12yr "Lot B" (the Lot B is often considered the best overall expression from the Van Winkle folks by many...).

For higher-proof expressions, try the ORVW 10yr/107proof or the Pappy 15yr/107proof. Both are fantastic, and I like the higher proof ones myself.

My favorites Van Winkle whiskies, in order of preference are:

* Van Winkle Family Reserve 13yr Rye (the most rare of all VW products)
* Pappy Van Winkle 15yr 107proof Bourbon
* Van Winkle Special Reserve "Lot B" 12yr Bourbon
* Pappy Van Winkle 20yr
* ORVW 10yr/107proof (which is the same juice as the 10/90, just not watered down).

Cheers, I'll have some VW as well. ;)

Pics added since I have some online already...

The 15yr with Busse content:
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Empty bottles of the 12yr Lot B and the 15yr:
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And a partially empty bottle of the Rye:
VWFRRandBakers.JPG
 
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The 20 and 23 yr are great bourbons. 10 year is not very rare, we have 100's of bottles of this stuff on the shelves at the larger liquor stores in KY. Only a very small portion of the bourbon made leaves the state. Lots of the more rare varieties are only sold in Kentucky. If you are ever in KY try stopping by the larger stores it will blow your mind the amount of tremendous bourbon you have never heard of by each of the distillers.

September is great time to stop by our state:

http://www.kybourbonfestival.com/
http://www.kybourbontrail.com/
http://www.heaven-hill.com/main.shtml

At the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage center you can purchase a 28 yr old bourbon for about $300. They lost track of a few barrels and these bottles were born. The only place you will find this is straight from the distillery.

Woodford Reserve is my everyday bourbon along with a way underpriced find Four Roses (about $15). Woodford Reserve also produces a master's collection every year or so, give these a try if you see them. They are in a bottle shaped like their signature copper stills.
 
The liquor store guy told me that he used to get the 10 y.o. by the case load, but the 2 he had on the shelf - which I bought - were the only ones he's gotten in for awhile because they are becoming harder to obtain. He said the distillery is selling smaller allotments to more stores around the country, limiting the amount he can buy. Again, no idea if this was true or a line to get me to buy more, but either way I have some good stuff waiting for me.

He also said I should try Woodford Reserve and Eagle Rare. I've seen those, but haven't gotten to them yet. Actually I think Eagle Rare was the first bottle of bourbon I ever bought, and when you're not used to it, it can be quite harsh. Perhaps a revisit is in order. I also think I remember seeing Four Roses when I was nosing around...I guess I'll have to remember that one too.

I'm definitely going to have to watch out for the other VWs. Or perhaps a road trip to Kentucky is in order one of these days :D
 
I got to meet Mr. and Mrs Van Winkle at the Whisky Fringe in Edinbrugh 2-3 years ago when they were there - great people! I tried the entire range there and found out that they were planning to buy a couple of the 13yo rye to take home since they coulden't get it at home. The owners not being able to get a bottle must mean it's pretty hard to come bye...
 
botolfs said:
I got to meet Mr. and Mrs Van Winkle at the Whisky Fringe in Edinbrugh 2-3 years ago when they were there - great people! I tried the entire range there and found out that they were planning to buy a couple of the 13yo rye to take home since they coulden't get it at home. The owners not being able to get a bottle must mean it's pretty hard to come bye...
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Cool. ;) Was it Julian (grandson of Pappy and the Master Distiller currently in charge of the brand), or Preston - his son who is also in the business?

As for numbers - there are only ~270 cases of the Rye available worldwide each year, for the next several years, until the next batch of 13yr Rye is ready. It's the most rare and most sought after of all Van Winkle whiskies. Less than 10 cases come to Colorado each year, as an example of the distribution... It's my favorite, which I enjoy often, so I try to keep a handful of bottles on hand. Try it if you can find it...

If you live in a state that accepts incoming shipments to private persons you can buy VW products online. Check with Binny's in Chicago - they ship nationwide and carry Van Winkle and they have a dedicate Bourbon buyer who knows what's up and can help you out... www.Binnys.com (I have no affiliation, mind you, but I have ordered from them a few times with success). The have fair prices, but order around 4 bottles at once to mitigate the shipping costs...
 
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Cool, I actually went to the Binny's in Skokie once. My brother lives down near there, so I stopped on the way back home. There selection was amazing. Next time I'm down there I'll have to take a look-see.
 
einsteinjon said:
Cool, I actually went to the Binny's in Skokie once. My brother lives down near there, so I stopped on the way back home. There selection was amazing. Next time I'm down there I'll have to take a look-see.
Click to expand...

Email Brett AT Binnys, he's the whiskey buyer and can help find things not on the shelf at your local store or special editions or the like. He's a good guy, but busy, so expect short delays in email responses.

By the way... there's only enough of the Stitzel-Weller produced Pappy 20yr to last another couple of years (as stated by Julian himself recently), so if you like it I suggest getting some to last you since it'll all be gone sooner than later. While the Buffalo Trace produced Pappy 20yr that will follow it in a few years will certainly be good Bourbon, it will not be the same and never will be again since the SW distillery is no longer operating...

That said, I still prefer the 12 and 15 year varieties of VW Bourbon which are half the price and more suited to my tastes...

YMMV. enjoy. ;)
 
Nice bottle or 3 you scored there mate, a word of warning. Put your Busses in one drawer, lock it and put the key somewhere safe. Then get your grinder (if you have one), files, sandpaper etc and lock that stuff up in a box/shed/garage then secure the key in a separate place from the first key. Hopefully this will prevent you succumbing to DGF (drunk grinding fever) and producing similar one-offs as the Bossman has 'created' in recent weeks. Not that they aren't................unique. I just know I don't have the spare blades to tweak that Jerry has :)
 
DowntownDM said:
Cool. ;) Was it Julian (grandson of Pappy and the Master Distiller currently in charge of the brand), or Preston - his son who is also in the business?

If you live in a state that accepts incoming shipments to private persons you can buy VW products online.
Click to expand...

It was Julian and his wife.

I live in Sweden so buying whiskey online from the states is not really a good idea - to heavy!
 
Van Winkle is mighty fine!!!!. . . My brother Dan is the bourbon guy, but I am slowly coming back around. . . I was weaned on Rebel Yell and am glad to have lived to tell about it!!!!!. . .

Woodford Reserve is mighty fine as well! ! ! ! !

Let's Drink!!! :thumbup:

Jerry :D
 
Yet another reason to go to the Fall Knob Creek - starting October 9: come for the knives, but don't forget about the booze. Seriously though, if you want to make a vacation of it, you might consider coming early and wandering around Bourbon County, maybe take a few tours -- www.kybourbontrail.com
 
As you are a fan of the Turkey, do yourself a favor and try the Kentucky Spirit. For an unexpected treat at a very good price point, try the Elijah Craig.

David
 
Yeah, one of these days I intend to try all the different varieties of Wild Turkey...to add the empty bottles to my collection :D My store has Kentucky Spirit and can get the others (so they say). So much booze and so little time.
 
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