Pappy Van Winkle

In Colorado the 15 is usually $50, and the Rye and Lot B both hover at $40, +/- $5.

I don't track the others very closely.

The Rye is in shortest supply, with only ~250 cases a year worldwide.

The 15yr is next most scarce, and very popular, and always hard to find.

(More or less) all Van Winkle whiskeys are released once a year, around now.

Buy them when you can find them.

Enjoy.

(the HOG in me says - don't buy the 15yr or the Rye, you won't like it...)
 
Well I should have bought yesterday. The state has one bottle of 15yo that I don't have to drive two hours to get.

I am calling in the morning.
 
My personal rankings aside, the Lot B is no slouch, nor are any of the other VW expressions. Lot B is still in my Top-10 favorite whiskeys ever, and a standard at my home bar.

Try any of the Weller branded expressions for the most similar experience to VW, as both are in the rare Wheater group, and Pappy (the man) was Master Distiller over at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery back in the day (before his own brand existed) so the VW blood, so to speak, is evident in the Wellers. I particularly like the Weller 12yr 90proof and the 7yr 107proof. Even the regular ole cheapo Weller Special Reserve (7yr, 90proof, ~$14) is a tasty whiskey.

Makers, of course, is the other Wheater Bourbon. I like it, but after several from VW and Weller first.
 
Well, I finally found a website that had "Pappy 15" in stock and purchased a bottle. I won't relax until I get shipping confirmation...cause I have a feeling I will be contacted today and told they were actually "out of stock" and had not updated their website....:(

At least my local store has several bottles of VW 12 "Lot B". I'm Gonna stock up...:D
 
My wife is in Japan at the moment, and one of her friends has this specimen:

orvw-16year.jpg


It looks like it was barreled in 1974, and bottled in 1990. I can't tell from the photo whether it is empty or still has some inside.
 
Does anyone know when the Van Winkle 12 Year "Lot B" was bottled? I've tried researching it, but with negative results so far.
 
Riverwarrior said:
Does anyone know when the Van Winkle 12 Year "Lot B" was bottled? I've tried researching it, but with negative results so far.
Click to expand...

There's no way to tell when a given bottle was bottled. But it's a current product and is bottled (at least) once a year (as is the 15, 23, and 10yr versions too).

IIRC - the little serial number thing on the label has nothing to do with the bottling but rather some sort of printing series of the labels (which have to be approved by the Gov/are regulated, etc) and the same label series gets used for many years. I know this applies to the Rye, and I think it's the same for the Lot B. In any case, you can't tell when it was bottled.

For what it's worth, IIRC, the 15yr, 12yr, 10yr, and 23yr expressions come from Whiskey cooked and bottled at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

The 20yr, however, at least for the next few years, is old Stitzel-Weller whiskey that will be gone forever in the next few years and replaced by whiskey cooked and aged at the BT facility. This makes the 20yr a special treat, which will never be repeated once it's gone since the SW Distillery is no more... It'll probably be delicious too, but it'll be different for sure...

The Rye, similarly, which was aged 13yrs but is now closer to 18 or 19 actual years old (vatted after 13yrs though), also comes from stock that pre-dates the VW/BT partnership. The current Rye shortage is due to the fact that they (the VW's, using BT's facilities) are only about 1/2 done aging the "new" batch of 13yr Rye. So for the next 7 or so years there is only ~250 cases of Rye available worldwide (a rationing of what's left, divided by the number of years left before the new stuff is done). Similar to the 20yr, THIS 13yr Rye will never be repeated as the "new" batch is aging at a completely different distillery, and while it may be very similar and certainly delicious, it can not be the same...

Fun stuff.
 
lunde said:
My wife is in Japan at the moment, and one of her friends has this specimen:

orvw-16year.jpg


It looks like it was barreled in 1974, and bottled in 1990. I can't tell from the photo whether it is empty or still has some inside.
Click to expand...

Very interesting.

I know that (at least now a days) the Japanese VW releases are no different from the Domestic releases. It may have been different in the past though, which is definitely the case for WT and other brands. For example, Domestic WT 101 is a mix of 8yr, 10yr, 12yr, and 15yr old whiskey (or there about) - whereas there are International Releases where you can get JUST 15yr WT 101 (which is considerably more delicious IMO and priced about the same...).
 
DowntownDM said:
There's no way to tell when a given bottle was bottled. But it's a current product and is bottled (at least) once a year (as is the 15, 23, and 10yr versions too).

IIRC - the little serial number thing on the label has nothing to do with the bottling but rather some sort of printing series of the labels (which have to be approved by the Gov/are regulated, etc) and the same label series gets used for many years. I know this applies to the Rye, and I think it's the same for the Lot B. In any case, you can't tell when it was bottled.

For what it's worth, IIRC, the 15yr, 12yr, 10yr, and 23yr expressions come from Whiskey cooked and bottled at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.

The 20yr, however, at least for the next few years, is old Stitzel-Weller whiskey that will be gone forever in the next few years and replaced by whiskey cooked and aged at the BT facility. This makes the 20yr a special treat, which will never be repeated once it's gone since the SW Distillery is no more... It'll probably be delicious too, but it'll be different for sure...

The Rye, similarly, which was aged 13yrs but is now closer to 18 or 19 actual years old (vatted after 13yrs though), also comes from stock that pre-dates the VW/BT partnership. The current Rye shortage is due to the fact that they (the VW's, using BT's facilities) are only about 1/2 done aging the "new" batch of 13yr Rye. So for the next 7 or so years there is only ~250 cases of Rye available worldwide (a rationing of what's left, divided by the number of years left before the new stuff is done). Similar to the 20yr, THIS 13yr Rye will never be repeated as the "new" batch is aging at a completely different distillery, and while it may be very similar and certainly delicious, it can not be the same...

Fun stuff.
Click to expand...

I truly appreciate your informative reply. I knew Buffalo Trace was involved in most of the VW line, but I didn't know the info concerning the PVW "20 year". Looks like I will be on the hunt for some Pappy "20"..:D
 
I wrote:
The HOG in me says that I need to try the 13 Year Rye... :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Good news. I just found a bottle of this from a local source, and reserved it. :D
 
Thanks to a kind HOG (who shall go unnamed unless he chooses to self-identify), I have two bottles of 15-year Reserve and a bottle of 12-year "Lot B" en route. This next year will be just a little bit nicer. :thumbup:
 
Riverwarrior said:
I truly appreciate your informative reply. I knew Buffalo Trace was involved in most of the VW line, but I didn't know the info concerning the PVW "20 year". Looks like I will be on the hunt for some Pappy "20"..:D
Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Forgive the typos and a couple of small errors, I was typing off the top of my head from my phone and while in the middle of something else, and merely summarizing what I've learned elsewhere, but the general gist and bulk of what I wrote stands.

Bear in mind, with respect to BT-originated VW whiskey vs older stock they brought along with them, it's not like either one is clearly better, just equally awesome and different.

The 15yr is 100% BT, so to speak, and I still like it better than the 20yr Stitzel-Weller VW... The current/old-stock Rye is amazing, to me, and its origins are somewhat unknown (speculated but unconfirmed, and likely a vatting of a different sources).

Point being, they're all good, for different reasons.

Get what you can while you can and enjoy.

;)
 
Just got delivery confirmation on my "Pappy 15".....:thumbup::thumbup:

Since recently moving to Kentucky, I'm looking forward to taking the tours along the Bourbon Trail.
 
DtDM - Great info!:thumbup: I happened to stop by my local emporium last night and the only VW they had was 4 or 5 bottles of the 20yo @ $99. I'm trying to decide if it's a viable option for a 40yo man to go to the mall, sit on Santa's lap, and ask for bourbon? Of course Hannukah is just around the corner...hmmm...:D
 
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