Pappy Van Winkle

“We make fine bourbon, at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon.” – Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle

Pappy Van Winkle. Just saying the name invokes a certain mystique. It is no overstatement to say that it is the most legendary, sought after, and – let’s be honest – overhyped bourbon out there. In reality, there is no more Pappy Van Winkle. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Again, I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t have much experience with it. The first time I tried it was in the early 2000s at a bourbon tasting put on by a local liquor store. Yes, they had it to sample! I recall that it was quite good. I also recall that I couldn’t afford it at the totally unreasonable price of around $130 a bottle at that time. Wow!

Over the ensuing years, a handful of friends have managed to acquire bottles and have been kind enough to share a dram with me. They weren’t the Pappy 23-year. Like everything else in the Buffalo Trace world, there are a few iterations of Pappy. The “younger” Van Winkles are Old Rip Van Winkle 10-year, and Van Winkle Special Reserve 12-year. These are the bottles my friends acquired, and, again, they were quite good. I recall heavy notes of caramel and toffee with a nice, sweet, and warm 107-proof finish.

Let’s get to a little history. Julian Van Winkle (the Colonel Sanders-looking guy with the cigar on the label) started the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in 1935. History ran its course with the usual ups and downs (most notably the bourbon crash of the 1970s and ‘80s) and the distillery was sold in 1972.

Julian Van Winkle III (Pappy’s grandson) wanted to resurrect the brand in the 1990s, so he bought back old unused barrels of the Stitzel-Weller hooch and bottled them under his own label. Yada, yada, yada, a star was born.

And now … it’s gone. Seriously. There is no more of the original Stitzel-Weller Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Well, there is some, but it only exists in the hands of private collectors and high-end bourbon retailers/auction houses. I can’t even imagine how much it would cost!

Today’s Pappy comes from barrels aged in the cooler, lower floors of Buffalo Trace’s rickhouses. It is “picked” by the Van Winkles themselves, most notably by Pappy’s above-mentioned grandson, Julian, who is the spitting image of his grandfather. Once a year the Van Winkles go to a special tasting of these precious barrels, and through pure taste memory pick the ones that will become the legendary juice. The Van Winkle family has complete proprietary control over which barrels get picked.

The “official” retail price for the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23 Years Old is $500. Unless you know the Van Winkles, are connected at Buffalo Trace, or have some other other-worldly connections, you aren’t going to find it anywhere for that. Of course, the “lesser” expressions are a little less expensive.

For an average guy like me, the only place to get these bottles is on the secondary market for prices ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. There are those out there who can do that. Me? No. Is it worth it? Of course not. Would anyone really think that a bottle of bourbon is worth a thousand dollars or more no matter how good it is? Once again, as good ole Dad used to say, “it’s all made to sell.”

Gotta hand it to them, though; the Van Winkles and Buffalo Trace have done an excellent job with their marketing and hype. Television and movies have helped. Pappy features prominently in Justified and Landman, as well as in several movies, including one called Heist that is about the “Pappygate” theft. I’m not going to go into that here (Google is our friend).

One more little snippet about Buffalo Trace and high-end bourbons. They also produce the “Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.” This is a collection of whiskeys that are almost as rare as Pappy. This line isn’t in collaboration with the Van Winkles, so Pappy isn’t included in it. It includes George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Thomas Handy Sazerac, Eagle Rare 17 Year, and Sazerac Rye 18 Year. These also come with quite hefty price tags as well and, as with the Van Winkle line, are usually only found on the secondary market. Do I have any of these? Again, nope.

This is getting long, so let’s wrap things up and cut to the chase. Would I like to have one of these rare Buffalo Trace whiskeys? Sure! It just isn’t practicable for my income level. Of course, I could’ve had a few of them if I had gone with extremely expensive quality over quantity in my bourbon collection. But, hey! They say that variety is the spice of life, and I do have some quite nice whiskeys in my collection.

For those of you who can afford it, or have managed to snag a bottle in a bourbon lottery at retail, cheers to you! Enjoy it, savor it, and share a little with your friends, as my great friends have.

Next time, we’ll come back down to earth and discuss a wonderful little distillery right here in Indy. Until then, cheers!

Jon Smyrnis is a lifelong Indianapolis area resident. He enjoys traveling, hiking, biking, kayaking, dining out, and, of course, fine cocktails and great bourbons.