View Full Version : Pappy 20....mmmmmmm
RedVette
12-04-2004, 15:57
I decided to swing by the best liquor store in town on the way to the grocery store today to get some back ups for some bottles that were well on their way to empty. When I turned the corner to the Bourbon aisle, there they were, 2 bottles of Pappy 20 saying "buy me, buy me now". This is one expression that I have never tasted and have wanted to for a very long time. Well cooler heads prevailed and I only bought one, and now I am enjoying what has to be the best bourbon I have ever tasted. On Monday, the second bottle will be mine. Man this is tasty stuff.
OneCubeOnly
12-04-2004, 16:23
Pappy 20 is my #1 all time very favorite bourbon. Period. I get a lot of negative feedback that it's too old, or too wooded, or too diluted, but I put it head & shoulders above Stagg and Birthday Bourbon and all the other inflated bourbons here on this site. Pappy 20 is my all time *CHAMPION*.
Class. Sophistication. Refinement. If you don't see it in Pappy 20, then you don't acknowledge them at all.
Of course, as always, your mileage may vary.
Cheers!
http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif
RedVette
12-04-2004, 16:45
I haven't yet had GTS, but I have had the Birthday stuff which I have so far found to be "just OK", and this Pappy stuff is mind blowing. Previously I have run through a few bottles of "Lot B and have immensly enjoyed a bottle of ORVW 15 107, but wow, this stuff is amazing.
wrbriggs
12-26-2004, 07:40
Well, I looked in my stocking this year to find a bottle of Pappy 20 from my wife! I think it's one of the older bottlings, as it's been sitting in the back room of the liquor store since 2001. It's the only bottle of Pappy sold in the entire state of Vermont according to the state liquor board.
I can't wait to try it! I also received a copy of Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible from my sister-in-law, and he doesn't seem to think too highly of Pappy. Then again, what the hell does Jim Murray know, anyway?
Merry belated Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!
TNbourbon
12-26-2004, 08:22
Well, if it's from 2001, it surely is an older bottling -- but a way to confirm is to check where it was bottled. The early ones will say Lawrenceburg, KY (Julian's Old Commonwealth operation), while the recent ones are from Frankfort, KY (Buffalo Trace).
Great gift!
Ken Weber
12-27-2004, 10:18
Team, important lesson here. When a distillery like Buffalo Trace begins producing a whiskey for the first time, the label can be a bit misleading. For example, when we started producing Julian's whiskey for the 20 year old, the TTB (formerly the BATF) allowed us to use up old labels before we had to print new ones. As long as we used them up in about 6 months, there was no problem. So, some of the bourbon that has Lawrenceburg on the label was actually produced here. But, to offset this was the fact that we did not have any 20 year old whiskey and the liquid we used came from Julian's stock formerly held in Lawrenceburg, via Stitzel-Weller in Louisville. Now, who is on first??!
Ken
wrbriggs
12-27-2004, 10:56
Well, if it's from 2001, it surely is an older bottling -- but a way to confirm is to check where it was bottled. The early ones will say Lawrenceburg, KY (Julian's Old Commonwealth operation), while the recent ones are from Frankfort, KY (Buffalo Trace).
Great gift!
Well, this one says Lawrenceburg, so it is one of the older bottlings, regardless of where it came from. From Ken's post, it sounds like it's Stitzel-Weller stock, regardless of where it was bottled.
nysquire
12-31-2004, 09:35
Very nice bourbon indeed.......
gr8erdane
12-31-2004, 09:41
Amazing is the word for it and best of all, one of my favorite shops in St Louis County has kept it's price below most others I've seen. Plus they just added Pappy 15 at less than 30 a bottle. Gotta love those wine shops that stock bourbon as an afterthought.
jvanwinkle
12-31-2004, 10:23
Ken is right. We were able to "use up" some of the Lawrenceburg address labels when we first bottled the 20-year Pappy at BT. A way to check if it is my Stitzel-Weller bourbon, check the color of the bottle. If it is a clear bottle, it is S/W whiskey. A green tint is an older bottling at Lawrenceburg and is not S/W.
Julian
wrbriggs
12-31-2004, 11:14
Ken is right. We were able to "use up" some of the Lawrenceburg address labels when we first bottled the 20-year Pappy at BT. A way to check if it is my Stitzel-Weller bourbon, check the color of the bottle. If it is a clear bottle, it is S/W whiskey. A green tint is an older bottling at Lawrenceburg and is not S/W.
Julian
Thanks Julian! The bottle is clear, so my assumption is that it is S/W whiskey. So far I've only had one pour, I'm trying to ration it. I have a feeling it would be almost impossible to get another bottle of a Van Winkle bourbon (Pappy or Old Rip 10/12) shipped into my state, so this one will have to last me a while.
camduncan
12-31-2004, 14:50
The Australian importer of Van Winkle products has several of these in stock. I'm hoping to pick one up some time mid year as a wedding present to myself http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif
They've been there a while from what I can tell, so are likely to be the earlier Stitzel-Weller bottling?
Anyway, at AU$400 a bottle, it is definately the most expensive bourbon in Australia and is over 4 times the price of its nearest rival (Bookers $AU 89) http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
wadewood
04-14-2005, 16:08
Today, I purchased a bottle of the Lawrenceburg, Stitzel-Weller Pappy 20. It was on the shelf in small liquor store in Post Falls, Idaho.
Today, I purchased a bottle of the Lawrenceburg, Stitzel-Weller Pappy 20. It was on the shelf in small liquor store in Post Falls, Idaho.
Havin' a taste of that right now... righteous whiskey!! My wife and I had a little bourbon oriented party recently and the Lawrenceburg Pappy 20 was a pretty big crowd pleaser, as was the Black Maple Hill 16, cask 128.
What'd you pay for the bottle?? Mine was $100 and it was the last one at the store, but there are lots of Frankfort bottles in a certain control state's inventory at around $70 each, with no signs of being depleted... anyone done the comparison of the Frankfort vs. Lawrenceburg bottlings??
Regards,
-monte-
gr8erdane
04-15-2005, 06:39
... anyone done the comparison of the Frankfort vs. Lawrenceburg bottlings??
It just so happens this is in the works to be done in two weeks enmass if you will by many of us attending the Sampler. Tickets are still available and probably there is still a room or two available at the GN.
wadewood
04-15-2005, 07:18
What'd you pay for the bottle?
It was $83 after tax for the Pappy 20 Lawrenceburg bottle and it was only one on the shelf.
... anyone done the comparison of the Frankfort vs. Lawrenceburg bottlings??
It just so happens this is in the works to be done in two weeks enmass if you will by many of us attending the Sampler. Tickets are still available and probably there is still a room or two available at the GN.
I _really_ wish I could go down and visit all you kind folks, but I have this ball and chain around my leg (work) that's pretty inflexible. I'm trying to figure out how to do the KY bourbon festival this fall, and that too will probably not be something I can do. Thanks for the kind invite though, and maybe, somehow, perhaps, something will work out, hopefully sooner than later...
Take care,
-monte-
bluesbassdad
05-07-2005, 11:47
Dane,
While trying to figure out how much my next rye/bourbon shipment is going to cost me (my memory has failed me once again), I happened upon the following listing for Pappy 20 (http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/search.asp?s=winkle&GO.x=21&GO.y=5) (scroll to the bottom).
Just out of curiousity, how does your local store's price compare?
I wonder whether anyone hereabouts has ever done business with the aforementioned source.
Curiously, they list shipping charges for some states that I think prohibit shipment of liquor from out-of-state (including OH and VT). Am I mistaken?
Yours truly,
Dave Morefield
I have never had them ship to me (so my response is of limited value to you), but I have passed by there once or twice and stopped in. They sometimes have excellent sales on bourbons and tend to have a pretty good selection for the north east. I believe that they collect New Jersey sales tax even for out of state deliveries.
Around here in MA, Pappy 20 is anywhere from $85 to $100. The lowest price I've ever seen is in PA, where it's also $70.
gr8erdane
05-08-2005, 16:02
Dave, the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton still has them by about 5 bucks. When discussing this with Julian and Preston at the Sampler they just shook their heads. I took from their reaction this was pretty much right at cost. There's also a chance that this store is using old pricing but it seems that the Pappy 15 is much cheaper than the ORVW 15 was. If they want to keep it at that price, it's fine with me but as soon as they hike it up, the spigot may slowly shut off.
Docholiday
05-08-2005, 18:19
I stopped in there today and they had one bottle on the shelf.
Mike
I have only one very important question about this bourbon . . .
Am I supposed to leave it in the red velvet bag, or take it out? http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
While PA may have pretty good prices on the 20 ($69.99 plus tax) it seems we are shorted the red bags. I never knew about them until this post and none of the 4 bottles I've bought had them. Anybody have an extra they want to sell? I feel deprived. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
I have only one very important question about this bourbon . . .
Am I supposed to leave it in the red velvet bag, or take it out? http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
bluesbassdad
05-13-2005, 12:42
Of course, this is a purely personal decision. However, I prefer to open the bag just enough to enable me to put my lips around the mouth of the bottle while I drink from it. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/smilielol.gif (The cloth bag is also handy, should any bourbon happen to run down my chin. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)
Yours truly,
Dave Morefield
gr8erdane
05-14-2005, 09:17
The red bags were a holiday season extra for a lot that came out at that time. The normal 20yr does not have them. Luckily, I got one on my first bottle of 20 that has graced two other bottles since.
I guess I'll leave it on for a little while. I'll need to remove it anyway, in order to keep an eye on how full the bottle is. I'd hate to have it go empty without expecting it, and I'll need to know when to get more!
tlsmothers
05-18-2005, 17:04
I first sold the Pappy 20 for $75 which for NYC was great pricing. I wanted to keep the price low for Julian's first visit to the store. The Sazerac rep and Julian hinted they thought the price was a bit low. I finally raised it to $80 not long ago.
I've got red bags. Anybody interested can PM me. They sure are purdy. I'd love to make a quilt with patches of red VW bags and a few black ones thrown in. If life ever settles down, maybe I can make one and donate to the Oscar Getz auction. (Oh, life, please settle down! ha ha)
I haven't laughed this hard in a long time! http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/images/graemlins/thankyousign.gif
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