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DETAILS
REVIEW
RARITY
DISTILLERY
Buffalo Trace
MASTER DISTILLER
Harlen Wheatly
AGE
15 Years
PROOF
107 | 53.5% ABV
FIRST RELEASE
2004
RELEASE FREQ
Annual (LE)
MASH
REVIEW69%
CORN
16%
WHEAT
15%
BARLEY
PALATE: An elegant and sweet aroma with caramel corn and vanilla. Features big flavor of leather, oak and complex fruitiness. Finishes smooth with notes of spice and oak tannins.
HISTORY LESSON
REVIEWPappy Van Winkle and the legacy of the Van Winkle brand quite literally run in parallel to the story of Kentucky bourbon. It would not be overstating it to say that Pappy Van Winkle, the man and the brand, is Kentucky bourbon.
The origins of Pappy Van Winkle begin along the intersection of another famous Buffalo Trace brand, William LaRue. Pappy Van Winkle was born in the late 1800s and at an early age had an entrepreneur spirit. After sampling some of the famous W.L Weller & Sons whiskey, he sought out a job as a traveling salesman for William LaRue.
At that time, W.L. Weller & Sons Whiskey was some of the best whiskey on the market. They were famous for their innovation and experimentation into making quality bourbon that set them a part from other brands. The W.L. Weller brand worked closely with another famous Kentucky distillery, the Stitzel Brothers in Louisville. The Stitzel Brothers too were famous for experimentation and innovation. In fact, they invented and patented the popular rack system of storing bourbon used by almost all distilleries today. One of their early experimentations that didn’t quite take off was using wheat instead of rye in a bourbon mash.
After Weller’s retirement, Van Winkle and a few other salesmen bought up controlling interest in the W.L. Weller company and begin a partnership with the newly formed A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery. Unfortunately for the young company, shortly after they established their partnership, prohibition was passed. The distillery was able to keep going with a “medicinal license”, but it was definitely not an ideal start for Van Winkle’s new venture.
Soon after, prohibition was lifted and the distillery starting once again mass producing bourbon whiskey. With fresh demand and limited supply, the bourbon makers needed a jump start. But with no stock, the makers needed to innovate in order to offer a product that was worthy of their new label in a short amount of time. It was then that they remembered an experiment they had done with a wheat mash. Using wheat as a secondary grain creates a sweeter softer bourbon that requires much less aging time to achieve maturity.
Bottled as Old Weller and Old Fitzgerald, the Stitzel-Weller wheat mashes were a huge success. Today the world famous Pappy Van Winkle bourbon still uses a wheat mash to carry on the legacy of that innovation. However this was only half the story of the Pappy Van Winkle brand.
In the 1970s, in the beginning of what was known as the downfall of bourbon, many makers struggled and Pappy Van Winkle was no exception. In 1972, under heavy pressure from stockholders, Julian Van WInkle Jr. and his siblings sold off their share of the distillery. They did maintain one pre-prohibition label called “Old Rip Van Winkle.”
When a large aging lot of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon went on auction in the early 80s, Julian Van Winkle and his son Julian Van Winkle III, knew that had to capture some of their Pappy’s bourbon. With the help of Willett Distillery, Julian Van Winkle III bottled some of their grandfathers bourbon as Old Rip Van Winkle, and within a few years it took the bourbon world by storm. At that time, aging bourbon was almost unheard of as consumers largely were buying “mixer” bourbons that were light and easy to drink. Old Rip was anything but offering a bold, elegant and well-aged 20 year bourbon meant to be enjoyed slowly and neat. The gamble paid off as the new wheat mash bourbon won almost every award available at the time and has since become one of the most famous brands in the world, even partly responsible for the modern bourbon revival.
Seeing an opportunity to revitalize their family legacy and expand production, the Van Winkles entered into a partnership with Buffalo Trace to produce all of the Pappy Van Winkle products through Buffalo Trace. The partnership allows Julian Van Winkle III to maintain quality control and ownership of the brand while utilizing Buffalo Trace’s vast resources for production. So far the partnership, and bourbon being produced, has been a big win for bourbon enthusiasts
REVIEW
Each Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year release varies slightly but the bourbon should exemplify:
NOSE: Well-aged oak leads into rich vanilla, brown sugar, some slight earthiness and that classic cherry and subtle citrus the Buffalo Trace Mash Bill #1 is known for.
SIP: The sip opens right where you would expect, sweet caramel over rich oak with hints of cherry. After the initial sweet notes, it waves in hints of darker fruits and closes in on some nice rye spice, pepper and even some of that earthiness. Overall the pour is perfectly harmonious with sweet and spice over light oak and dark fruit. It is truly well-aged, classic bourbon in every sense.
For an in-depth review of each Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year release, see Reviews.
WHAT IS IT?
Pappy Van Winkle is the 107 proof, 15 year entry into the Pappy Van Winkle brand and is the youngest bottle to don the image of the famous Pappy Van Winkle.
Bottles of Pappy Van Winkle debuted in the early 90s, but it wasn’t until 2004, two years after the partnership with Buffalo Trace, that the 15 year would be released. Bottles before 2007 likely have the original Pappy Van Winkle bourbon distilled at the famous Stitzel Weller Distillery and are considerably more valuable. In fact it is suggested that the “original recipe” even differs from the new Buffalo Trace mash which is likely true.
More about the Pappy Van Winkle Brand.
By 2004 the word was out on Pappy Van Winkle, though it had amassed more of a cult following then than what exists today. It wasn’t until the mid 2000s and the rise of social media that Pappy reached the fever pitch it is now. Upon its release, the 15 year bourbon was well received by fans who love the bold flavor and smooth creamy texture.
The bourbon is meant to be a soft, elegant, well-aged expression that still packs plenty of flavor. The 15 year old wheat mash creates an elegant creamy pour that sits in a class of only a few and is widely considered one of the best bourbons in the world. While the 20 and 23 year Pappy bottles are much more rare, and therefore command much more clout, the 15 year is considered by many to be the best Pappy Van Winkle pour. Some would say the younger Van Winkles are too young while the older too much oak. The 15 year perfectly balances both extremes.
Each release of this premium selection is a bourbon lovers dream bottle. This without a doubt sits atop most enthusiasts wish list for any home bar. The elegant complexity of a well-aged wheat bourbon is a pour that shares the company of only a few other offerings on the market. It is not a must try, it is one of the few have to tries.
IS IT HARD TO FIND?
This is a true unicorn. I’d offer you solace in the idea that you can find these at secondary prices, but honestly even then, they are still hard to find. There seems to be no shortage or slowing of people well connected or well backed willing to buy and hoard these bottles at ridiculous prices. The distillery releases somewhere around 7,000 bottles per year, which helps explain why they are so hard to find. It is the poster child for a harsh system of secondary markets and under the table deals. As such, this is one to be careful with as it is ripe for fakes. This is the “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” scenario. The reality is, this is a bottle that you will likely only get if you are lucky or wealthy. It is a fall release, so often you will see them around Novemeber-January.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Worth the hype? Yes, period. The well-aged wheat bourbon is such a unique pour in the bourbon world that this deserves every bit of praise it gets. Worth the MSRP? You’d be crazy to pass on this for a number of reasons. Worth the ridiculous secondary prices? I’ll preach again, no bourbon is worth $2,000, but…maybe? When you consider all factors like the clout, the fact that only a few bottles of 15 year wheat bourbon exist at all, let alone Pappy, and the conversation around this bottle, you can easily see why people will shell out some crazy amounts to own one. It is an excellent bourbon I wish I could drink everyday, but like many, that’s just not in the cards.
Like every Pappy release, this is a truly a great pour. This is bucket list type stuff we are talking about. You must try this bourbon, there’s just no way around it. And it’s likely one pour and you’ll understand the obsession. It’s that good. Now you won’t immediately shell out 2k for it, but there’s no way you will walk away disappointed. As I’ve mentioned there are only a couple of wheat mash bourbons aged to 15 years or more. This is truly unique both in conception and quality.
Realistically for the quality and clout of this bottle, anything under about $1,000 is a decent price, though due to the secondary value of this bottle, I’d be very skeptical of that price. If you’re paying that, you better know the bottle is real. A pour can demand some higher-end prices that might not be as palatable. Anything under $120 is fair, though I have seen pours under $100. Anything approaching the $200 is in the gouging price point. I won’t tell you not to do it at that price if it’s a special occasion or maybe you live in an area that just doesn’t get stuff like that, but just don’t judge the bourbon against an unrealistic price point.
More about worth here: Worth it?
IS IT FOR YOU?
Yes. I don’t know you, I don’t need to know you. This is for you. It may not go down as your favorite bourbon and you may not jump on the Pappy fan-wagon, but you will not be disappointed. I have never met a bourbon drinker that didn’t like Pappy.
The Pappy brand has had a cult following since its release and this bourbon has been a favorite since its inception and with the secondary prices it commands, you have to imagine there is some validity to its reputation. This is a bucket list bourbon for a reason.