BOTM 2/11: Old Rip Van Winkle 10 yr 107 proof

[jcg9779]

Man I'm on a roll. The BOTM is up on time for the third month in a row!

Can he make it four in a row???

[Parkersback]

Fishbowl! Fishbowl! Fishbowl!

[The Boozer]

I got 11 Old Rip 10/107's bunkered so yes you can say I like it.
It's like carmelized toffee. I prefer it over the Pappy 15, 20 & 23.

Ditto. Got about 9 bottles in the bunker. But I do like the Pappy 15 alot. The higher proof seems to pull out more of that rich carmel flavor, especially after a little air time.

[SMOWK]

The higher proof seems to pull out more of that rich carmel flavor, especially after a little air time.

The proofs on 10/107 and Pappy 15 are the same.

[Brisko]

I know I'm very late to this party, but I finally picked up a bottle of ORVW and have spent some quality time with it.

I did a little bit of side by side with OWA as others have done, and it was interesting because they do share so many similarities. But the real story is in the contrasts. The first thing I noticed is the corny cotton candy sweetness is a lot more subtle in the ORVW. Over all it has a much deeper flavor, and very well integrated: butterscotch, candied dark fruits, tobacco... also the finish progresses smoothly out of the mid-palate. One of the weaknesses of OWA (in my opinion, others may dig this) is that the barrel char isn't well integrated with the other flavors. It's a little unnerving to me, the char hits you on the finish without a lot of warning. There are some whiskeys (mostly rye recipes) where you can't tell what's distillate, and what's char. That's not the case with OWA but it certainly is with Old Rip.

One last thing, and this may very well be the power of suggestion: with both of these I taste a close relationship with the standard Buffalo Trace expression. It's the syrupy, slightly musty corn, I think. I was looking for it when I tasted the ORVW, but when I first tasted OWA, it was a surprise. My first thought was, wow, this reminds me a lot of BT.

Anyway, I'm growing pretty fond of ORVW.

[smokinjoe]

I've been working on another bottle of this over the last couple of months. This whiskey is, as the saying goes, "a conundrum wrapped in an enigma", to me. It bounces around on me every time I pour it. It goes from knee buckling delicious on Tuesday, to astringent and sink fodder on Wednesday. Now, I know the variances are my own whacked palate, but for some reason this bourbon takes full advantage of my palate schizophrenia, like no other brand.

At the end of the day, there's enough confusion in my world, as it is. Don't need a whiskey to further complicate things! And, at $44 a bottle, I'd just assume leave them for those who appreciate it's greatness on a more regular basis.

[DeanSheen]

And, at $44 a bottle, I'd just assume leave them for those who appreciate it's greatness on a more regular basis.

I bought two bottles of 10/107 once. Once.

Now I just buy 4 bottles of OWA. And I like it!!!

[The Boozer]

The proofs on 10/107 and Pappy 15 are the same.

May have misinterpreted what I was refering to; Pappy 15 & ORVW 10-107 are higher proof than Pappy 20 & 23 and tend to have more "rich carmel flavor", due to the higher proof than either the 20 or 23, IMO. I know they're the same proof, given I have multiple bottles of each.

[T Comp]

I got 11 Old Rip 10/107's bunkered so yes you can say I like it.
It's like carmelized toffee. I prefer it over the Pappy 15, 20 & 23.

I like the Old Rip 10/107 just as much as the 15. The 20 and 23 are just so different that they aren't comparable IMO. All are great, and for some reason I don't have a 10/107 open right now. I'm going to change that this afternoon. I think I have a dozen or so of them. ...

You know I'm starting to feel the same way and I'm talking about current bottles too.

[mosugoji64]

A little late to this party as well, but I wanted to say that I LOVE ORVW 10/107! While it may not be the cheapest or easiest-to-find pour out there, it is a bargain any way you look at it. It is one of the bottlings I would point out as a standard to which other bourbons should aspire. OWA is a close second. While OWA is a favorite, I think ORVW is a little more rounded in character.