Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 rye

it's my favorite whiskey.

and at $40 here in Colorado, not cost-prohibitive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DowntownD

it's my favorite whiskey.

and at $40 here in Colorado, not cost-prohibitive.

---

It is now a favorite of mine as well. Wish there were more in these parts (and at that price :grin: )

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JamesW

Just cracked my first bottle open this week. Bottle # G778. I love it! Tastes more like a bourbon than a rye to me though, not that that's a bad thing, but I wasn't expecting it to be that way. If it were a bourbon then I'd have to say that it would be one of the better bourbons I've had. It must be 51% rye and 49% corn to get that flavoring. The aging also seems to have taken down the rye bite a bit too I guess. Either way I'm thrilled with it and would buy more if I see it. Purchased it on a drive-by at a hole-in-the-wall little beer shop that had a couple whiskeys on the wall behind the counter. It looks like it was there a long time. At $35 it was a steal.

---

Gotta be some barley in there some where :grin:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DowntownD

it's my favorite whiskey.

and at $40 here in Colorado, not cost-prohibitive.

---

At that price, I would not be shy about stocking plenty of this one!

I just spotted another bottle but this time at $56. I had them put it aside for me and I'll be picking it up this Friday after I get paid. Man, $35 was so sweet. I have that price-point in my head now. At $40 I'd buy a case Downtown! I'm still getting it at $56 since I really loved it and I probably won't see more in these parts... the owner of the liquor store said he had just picked it up in Illinois.

It's a harsh mistress. Usually the last bottle I'll drink from on the bar and the one I most hesitate to open.

I have 2 in the bunker and 1 half finished that I opened about 3 weeks ago, I just like looking at it apparently as I drink through the other options at my disposal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DeanSheen

It's a harsh mistress. Usually the last bottle I'll drink from on the bar and the one I most hesitate to open.

I have 2 in the bunker and 1 half finished that I opened about 3 weeks ago, I just like looking at it apparently as I drink through the other options at my disposal.

---

Well said. I just picked that bottle up for $56 this morning. It's an "I" and the one open on my bar is a "G" which has been fantastic.

I also eye the bottle every night and then slap my hand and reach for something less rare. Tonight I'll probably treat myself though as I feel a bit less exposed now that one is finally in the bunker.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JamesW

Well said. I just picked that bottle up for $56 this morning. It's an "I" and the one open on my bar is a "G" which has been fantastic.

I also eye the bottle every night and then slap my hand and reach for something less rare. Tonight I'll probably treat myself though as I feel a bit less exposed now that one is finally in the bunker.

---

I've got one bottle that's been sitting in the liquor cabinet for some time now, just waiting for that special occasion to be opened. But tonight I'm going to crack it open, as I found three more bottles yesterday at $40 each, in a store near where my wife works and didn't have enough money on me to grab them. I guess I'll be heading back for the score after reading all the glowing remarks.

I just ran upstairs to check out the bottle of VWFRR 13 that I already have and it says on the top of the label "I-1996." Now I'm confused as hell because I went back to the very first post in this thread and read each and every one thereafter, including Fussychicken's spread sheet, and that has the "I" bottle dated 2007. I also noted an earlier post in which BourbonJoe mentions that the first "A" bottling to be released in the US came out in 1999. Can someone explain why my bottle says "I-1996"?

I think I can answer my own question. After browsing the internet a bit more I discovered that the "1996" following the "I" is not the year, but simply a bottle number. I'm guessing the other bottles I spotted in the liquor store are also labelled "I" but with different numbers following the letter. Doh! In any event, anyone care to comment on the quality of the "I" bottlings from 2007?