pappy van winkle’s family reserve
15yr 107 proof Red Foil/Cap “Santa Edition”
This bourbon was crafted according to our exclusive family wheated recipe. The smooth, oak flavor blends well with the barrel proof. Selected from barrels in the heart of our Kentucky warehouse, this bourbon has remained untouched for 15 years and unhurried by time.
Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This American bourbon is expressly produced according to the exclusive Van Winkle family wheated-recipe and specially selected from whiskey barrels in the heart of the aging warehouses, this bourbon remained undisturbed for 15 years to age in deep-charred heavy oak untouched by human hands, unhurried by time. Making it one of the most highly sought after whiskies.
In Pappy’s 15 Year old bourbon whiskey you will find an elegant and sweet aroma with caramel corn and vanilla. This wheated whiskey features big flavors of leather, oak and complex fruitiness. The finish is smooth with notes of spice and oak tannins.
tasting notes
See a hazy, copper color. Taste a rich, supple entry, leading to a decadent, huge, full-bodied palate with intense caramel, toffee and peppery brown spice flavors. Then, enjoy a finish with an extreme, long, complex, evolving fade of spice and wood notes. Experts deem it a seductive, exotic and virtually flawless bourbon.
Pappy began working at W.L. Weller & Sons first as a traveling whiskey salesman and eventually as the President of Stitzel-Weller Distillery. He helped shape the industry during and after Prohibition. Through his endeavors in the warehouse, the boardroom and on the road, he built a reputation in the bourbon industry that was second to none. Fine bourbon was his mission, and he accepted nothing less.
Pappy’s son, Julian Jr., operated the distillery from 1964 until the family sold it in 1972. After, not one to be defeated, he got himself an office and a secretary and formed a company called J.P. Van Winkle and Son. He got into marketing bourbon through many types of commemorative decanters, some of the more popular being for universities. But he never stopped bottling on the side. He created the Old Rip Van Winkle label as a side venture in case his son, Julian III, wanted to come into the business.
Julian III took over the business in 1981 after his father passed away. He was 32 years old with a wife and four young children. The premium bourbon business was in a lull, but 90 years ago, Pappy started from the ground up, too. So, with this same, innate passion, Julian purchased the Old Hoffman Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, for barrel storage and bottling purposes. He couldn’t afford much advertising, but the quality of Old Rip Van Winkle sold itself. Julian III and his impeccable palate created quite a stir.
When first approached by Buffalo Trace, Julian III was honored, but not immediately interested. He had ample bourbon aging, but the concern was for future reserves, since by this time, bourbon was increasing in popularity. Buffalo Trace bought the W.L. Weller label in 1999 and had been making the bourbon with nearly the same recipe as Pappy’s. The transition was easy. As of May 2002, Buffalo Trace has produced the Van Winkle bourbons, using Pappy’s exact recipe. This change allows Old Rip Van Winkle to maintain their strict quality standards while producing more barrels for future enjoyment.
Bourbon –
(Decent. I can go either way on it.)
I hate to break it to ya, folks. This isn’t some miracle liquid that nobody else can make, it’s just classic Kentucky bourbon. Buffalo Trace cranks out millions of bottles of whiskey that is right in line with this in quality. The fact that they continue to ride on the coattails of those who silently built the brand they represent today is incredibly sad. The Stitzel-Weller examples of Pappy were what garnered all the perfect scores and hype around this brand. Today’s Pappy is not that same liquid. It’s Weller bourbon in a fancy wine bottle, perhaps occasionally hand selected for the higher purpose of this label. It’s not the same rich history that was built from exceptional stocks by palates like the Julian Van Winkle legacy (Sr, Jr & III) and Marci Palatella. It’s sad to see a legacy such as theirs squandered on sad, modern, beige bourbon, but alas, people are still going to chase it for some time. At least until enough of us get to taste it and be honest about how it stacks up against other brands in this wide whiskey world. Does it deserve to be released and enjoyed? Absolutely. 15 year bourbon is an awesome thing to have on the shelf, but I’ll let you be the judge if this is worth chasing, or worth whatever the heck it goes for on secondary. If you’d like to help me recover from the $120 MSRP I had to purchase this one at, feel free to buy me a coffee. This site still operates on my own dime, with no monetary kickbacks or ads at all.