“Our distributor in Chicago, unbeknownst to me, put our 20-year-old in a contest at the Beverage Tasting Institute, a whiskey tasting contest. It got a 99 rating, the highest rating ever for a bourbon or scotch.” – Julian Van Winkle III
Happy Friday!
Our next Pappy Giveaway is in 5 days!
This month, we’ll give away a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s 15 YR Bourbon on May 29. We’ll announce the winner LIVE on our Facebook Page and post the video to our pursuitofpappy.com afterwards.
All Members who want to can buy 2-for-1 tickets until May 29. Just follow this link:
More Pappy Resources
The Pappy Raffle/Lotteries/Auctions Page (Keeps you in the know about Statewide, Store-Specific or other opportunities to locate a bottle of Pappy.)
The Pappy Events Page (Makes you aware of Tasting Events, Whiskey Festivals, etc. that offer and opportunity to taste some Pappy Van Winkle.)
Also, the Pappy List is now categorized by State. (Bars and restaurants do run out so it’s always a good idea to call and ask if that’s the only reason you’re going.)
4 Shots
Who is Pappy Van Winkle: The man behind the bourbon
Julian Van Winkle III, Pappy’s grandson, discusses the man behind the brand and how their bourbon became one of the most sought-after brands in the world.
Author: Doug Proffitt, WHAS11 StaffPublished: 2:48 PM EDT May 2, 2019Updated: 6:48 PM EDT May 2, 2019
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While local and national celebrities take to Churchill Downs every Derby week, one of the most famous names in bourbon chose not attend the Kentucky Derby, instead opening a distillery that would inspire the most famous brands in the world.
Stitzel-Weller, once the most famed bourbon distillery in the world, opened in Shively the day they ran the 61st Kentucky Derby. The architect behind the business, Julian Van Winkle, Sr. — already known to everyone as Pappy — ran the brand until the year before he died in 1965.
“He was very important to the industry in his lifetime, but his status is nowhere near where it is today,” historian Mike Veach said. “He [is] known around the world nowadays, probably as famous as Colonel Sanders.”
Van Winkle produced Old Fitzgerald in Shively, but it would be 30 years after his death before the first bottle of bourbon with the name ‘Pappy’ would be created.
“It was in our blood and we grew up around it. Just a fabulous place,” Julian Van Winkle III, Pappy’s grandson, said. “Everyone who worked there was great friends with Pappy,”
Julian’s sister, Sally Van Winkle Campbell, has vivid memories of what her grandfather was like.
“If somebody asked him how he got into the bourbon business his reply was, ‘I needed a job and got one,'” Van Winkle Campbell said.
Van Winkle was a true Louisville character, walking onto Whiskey Row right out of college, beginning a sales career that brought more success than he imagined.
“He traveled by mule, by horse and buggy and by train and plane, and none of that phased him. He just moved right on into the future,” Van Winkle Campbell said.
in 2014, the Van Winkles gave WHAS11 their family home movies of Pappy in action, from black and white to color film. It was the first time the man seen on the bottles had been shown to the public.
Julian created Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve in honor of his grandfather after taking over his father’s Old Rip Van Winkle label in 1981, considered one of the most sought-after bourbons in the world.
But why was Van Winkle’s original recipe so popular? Will the well-known company created by his grandson stay locally-owned as it continues to grow into a big money maker?
In a brand new Proffitt Report Podcast, Julian discussed how a review shared in a wine magazine in 1997 made his bourbon what it is today.
“Our distributor in Chicago, unbeknownst to me, put our 20-year-old in a contest at the Beverage Tasting Institute, a whiskey tasting contest,” Julian said. “It got a 99 rating, the highest rating ever for a bourbon or scotch.”
While the review helped raise their status among bourbon lovers, the famous photograph also helped the brand take off. Julian explains how he discovered Pappy’s photo, and how his grandfather influenced the brand, on “Who was Pappy Van Winkle? Details of the man who inspired the famous bourbon brand.”
The Best Bourbons Ever – Chuck Cowdery
Normally, I reject the idea of ‘best.’ For one thing, it’s subjective. What is best for you is whatever you like best. There is no objective ‘best.’
That said, here are some of the bourbons that have impressed me the most over the years.
Very Very Old Fitzgerald, 12-year-old. This 12-year-old wheated bourbon made at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery was just about perfect, as in perfectly balanced. It was generally available from the late 50s until about 1990. I’ve gone through several bottles. I have one left.
Abraham Bowman 18-year-old rye-recipe bourbon from Sazerac.This came out in about 2012. It was very limited. Very old bourbons are hit-or-miss. They miss more often than not or are okay but nothing special. Very rarely are they exceptional. This one was. I had one bottle. It is long gone.
A. H. Hirsch Reserve Bourbon, any bottling. This rye-recipe bourbon made by a doomed Pennsylvania distillery during a couple of weeks in 1974 became a phenomenon and is genuinely great whiskey too. Most of it was sold at 16-years-old but even the 20-year-old is terrific. I’ve tasted them all and still have one or two. I also wrote a book about it.
Weller 12-year-old. The closest you can get today to the taste of those great Stitzel-Weller wheaters of yore. Still made and widely available though often in short supply as its reputation as ‘poor man’s Pappy’ has spread.
Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit. On the rye-recipe side of the ledger, Kentucky Spirit stands out as an exemplar. It is simply everything you want in a rye-recipe bourbon. Still made, widely available, and modestly priced for what you get.
Parker’s Heritage Collection Master Distiller’s Blend of Mashbills Bourbon (2012). On paper, it’s just a mixture of Heaven Hill’s 11-year-old rye-recipe bourbon with Heaven Hill’s 11-year-old wheated bourbon. The proportions were never revealed. To me, it is one of the best bourbons ever made and a great example of what a veteran master distiller at the height of his powers can accomplish.
The World’s Most Wanted Bourbons
A new generation of drinkers is breathing new life into America’s native spirit – but who is winning?By Don Kavanagh | Posted Wednesday, 08-May-2019
For a category that seemed to be on its last legs 20 years ago, the resurrection of Bourbon has been nothing short of staggering.
New brands appearing, old brands revived, classics reaching crazy prices – there’s always something going on with Bourbon and the thirst for it looks unquenchable, especially in its home market.
Bourbon’s resurgence in popularity has been marked, mirroring a continuing upward trend in interest in whiskey generally; but in this particular case, a lot of it is down to a single distillery.
This year’s list looks a lot different to the last one we ran, back in 2017. Back then, the top whiskey, the WL Weller 12-Year-Old Wheated Bourbon, was way ahead of the pack, coasting along on the crest of a wave that had peaked when it was named Bourbon of the Year in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible back in 2015.
This year, it has been overhauled (and quite handsomely) by Blanton’s Original, which has moved up from fourth place in 2017. This won’t come as too much of a blow to its parent distillery, since they are both produced at the legendary Buffalo Trace production facility in Frankfort.
Buffalo Trace’s impact on the Bourbon scene can’t be underestimated. In 2017, the distillery accounted for 80 percent of the top 10 list. This year, that figure is 90 percent. That is some statistic; it remains impressive even as you zoom out from the top 10 – 15 of the top 20 come from Buffalo Trace; 18 of the top 25. The names of the brands are household names for Bourbon fans: Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, Weller’s, Pappy Van Winkle – the level of saturation is impressive.
It must be pleasing for Buffalo Trace to know that the whiskeys that are being hunted down by Bourbon lovers are mostly produced in their facility, whether as own-brands or as joint ventures, as is the case with the famed Old Rip Van Winkle range. Oddly enough, when it comes to the Bourbons with the highest scores and highest prices the honors are shared much more evenly.
But when it comes to the ones that you want, there’s not a trace of a doubt which distillery to head for.
1. Blanton’s Original Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon This flagship Bourbon has been steadily rising through the ranks over the past five years, powering its way from 811th place on the overall list to its current search rank of 72. It has gradually increased in price, too, but it’s a pretty palatable increase: from $60 last year to an average of $67 this year. And the whiskey itself? An absolute joy to drink.
2. WL Weller 12-Year-Old Straight Wheated Bourbon No longer top dog, but no lame duck, either – it cracked the overall search top 50 in December. Its aggregated critic score of 89 is hamstrung by a lack of actual scores, but the user ratings tell the story – an average five-star rating. It’s not cheap – or at least it’s not cheap anymore. Back in 2014 the average price was $47; it’s now $238.
3. George T Stagg Straight Bourbon A vintage whiskey release and one that has been a master of consistency both quality-wise and in its performance on Wine-Searcher. It’s average price has risen by $2 in the past three years and its search rank graph looks like a child’s drawing of the sea, with unnervingly regular peaks at Christmas time. A Bourbon to put a smile on your face, even at an average price of $706.
4. Henry McKenna Single Barrel Bourbon The only non-Buffalo Trace Bourbon on the list comes from the Heaven Hill stable and it is also the cheapest on the list, at an average of $46. However, that doesn’t reflect the fact that this elegant, 100-proof Bourbon took out Best in Show Whisky at the San Francisco Spirits Competition this year.
5. Old Weller Antique Original 107 Brand Straight Wheated Bourbon 107 proof, but you’d never think it; this small-batch Bourbon has abyssal depths of flavor and comes across like a barrel-strength whiskey without the burn. Its steady increase in popularity over the past five years has been matched with a drop in availability, leading to an inevitable increase in price – in 2014 the average price was $27; now it’s $113.
6. William Larue Weller Straight Bourbon Another member of the Weller family, and part of Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection, this quintupled in price between 2014 and 2015, shooting from an average of $235 to $1049. It has calmed down slightly since, as availability increased, but it will still set you back an average of $986 a bottle.
7. Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15-Year-Old Bourbon If you thought the last whiskey was expensive, hold my beer and watch this – this weighs in at a whopping $1515 a bottle on average and it’s not even the most expensive Pappy Van Winkle! Wine Enthusiast once scored this 98 points, which gives some idea of its quality; what’s encouraging is its increased availability.
8. Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade 10-Year-Old Straight Bourbon A positive bargain from the Van Winkle stable, this will set you back an average of $649, but it’s a Van Winkle, so who cares? This is available in both 107- and 90-proof versions, so be careful which one you pick up. It will bring a glad tear to your eye either way.
9. Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel Straight Bourbon A cask-strength Bourbon with a perfect five-star rating from our users. Can be hard to find in the US, but it’s a favorite overseas and in duty-free markets. Bottled at around 125 proof, this is a fiery little number, but well worth the effort of tracking down – a $115 average price tag is value for money in this case, too.
10. Elmer T Lee Single Barrel Sour Mash Straight Bourbon A multi-award-winning whiskey, named for the eponymous master distiller who joined the company in 1949. This single-barrel bottling is a little different, having a lower-than-usual proof for a single – it’s a warming but not obtrusive 90 proof. This has gone ballistic price-wise in the past four years, with the average price leaping from $50 to $191.Update: The Pappy Van Winkle lottery from Virginia ABC is now open
Buffalo Trace will be donating 400 bottles from its 6 millionth barrel to charities across the country in hopes to raise $500,000 for worthy causes.
Update: The Pappy lottery is now open. The entry form will be available May 22-26 at www.abc.virginia.gov.
Previous from May 17:
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority is holding another lottery for bottles of Pappy Van Winkle, the celebrated and award-winning Kentucky bourbon.
This time, the lottery will be for the Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20-year-old bourbon, the first time the bottle has been offered for sale to lottery winners, according to Travis Hill, ABC’s chief executive officer. And this time the state agency, which is the only approved distributor for liquor in the state, has 331 bottles of the beloved bourbon available for sale to the winners of the lottery.
The bottle retails for $169.99, which is the price that the lottery winners will be charged.
This is not, actually, the most bottles of Pappy that ABC has made available.
“Last year, we got 1,300 bottles of the Pappy 12-year and 400 bottles of the 10-year,” said Valerie Hubbard, an ABC spokeswoman.
This is the fifth time ABC has done a Pappy lottery. ABC launched its lottery system in 2016 for all its limited-availability products.
Just as with previous lotteries, anyone with a valid Virginia driver’s license who is of legal drinking age can register to win the chance to buy one of the bottles; non-Virginia residents will be removed from the lottery. The entry form will be available May 22-26 at www.abc.virginia.gov.
Winners will be notified June 3. A valid Virginia driver’s license is required to pick up and purchase the bourbon, which will be shipped to the Virginia ABC store selected on the entry form.
Enjoy the Chase!
-Chris