Trying my first Pappy - Advice requested on expression and comparator

[boneuphtoner]

Hi Folks,

I'm getting ready to try me some Pappy for the very first time. While travelling, I have found a bar that has the 15 and 20 year expressions available....I certainly prefer to try a tasting in a bar before I commit funds and the effort some of you people do to get some of this stuff! I have a couple of questions questions:

• Which of the two expressions would you try first? I'm going to try either or, but not both.
• What would your comparator for these be? The most logical ones based on distillery, proof, recipe, etc. would be OWA for the 15, and Weller 12 for the 20. I know some of you may not believe in using a comparator, but since I'm still a relative newbie, having a comparator really helps me sort out what I'm experiencing. It should be noted that I've tried both OWA and Weller 12 several times, and since the Pappy products are certainly related to these in proof and recipe (they're all BT based wheaters!), they make the most logial sense to me as comparators.
• Or should I compare the Pappy with one of my two very favorite bourbons? I like OWA and Weller 12 very much, they are nearly my favorites, but for me EC12 and ETL are the tops.

Thanks very much for any advice/suggestions you can offer!

[bad_scientist]

A few points:

1. Check the whiskey levels in the bottles. If you haven't done this before, it's helpful to let wheaters sit for several months in the bottle with some air exposure. You might be shocked to see how much of a difference it makes. If the levels are pretty high, or if the bottles were opened recently, the taste won't have opened up that much. It's not something that you can duplicate fully by letting it sit in the glass for a while.

2. Why not compare them to each other? Pappy 15, at least the new one, is BT, while Pappy 20 is still SW. As for your suggestions, both sets should be instructive. The wheaters are pretty bland, compared to the Pappies, but you're right, they do have the same origin as the Pappy 15 (not the 20). EC and ETL have much more of a rye presence than a lot of bourbons, and of course the Pappies have no rye, so you might be able to compare the rye spiciness in those to the wheat semi-spiciness in the PVWs.

3. Meridian Pint in DC has plenty of PVW23 for you to try.

[boneuphtoner]

Why not compare them to each other?

Mostly because I've never had any of the Pappy's before and I'd like to appreciate the difference (really I'm looking for the magnitude of the difference) between one of those and a comparator that I've tried before. When I do comparisons I try not to do more than two tastings at a time because I lose sensitivity beyond that.

[clingman71]

If the 15 is an '11, it is BT distilled VW. I would go with the 20 first. SW is in finite supply. There is no guarantee that you'll have the opportunity to drink SW bourbon in the future. While not easy to find, there is no reason that you won't have many opportunitirs to drink the BT distilled VW.

[bad_scientist]

Mostly because I've never had any of the Pappy's before and I'd like to appreciate the difference (really I'm looking for the magnitude of the difference) between one of those and a comparator that I've tried before. When I do comparisons I try not to do more than two tastings at a time because I lose sensitivity beyond that.

Personally, I like to compare wheat to wheat. On paper, I'd say pair a non-wheater with one of the Pappies, but in practice, I never do that. When I do a tasting of two or more wheaters, I notice the big differences with the first sip, and with subsequent sips I start picking up on the striking similarities.

[woodisgood]

I truly believe there is nothing out there like Pappy 15. Nuff said.

[SMOWK]

I say drink it and see if you like it. You probably will. The only real way to find out is blind. It's amazing what a bottle in the hand will do to your head.

[RyanL]

I was at a bat in LA last night that had PVW15 for $25 and Lot B for $30 which was hilarious. They have very few value pours...well basically none other than ordering a cocktail with lower priced but still great bourbon based on the fact the bartenders make amazing cocktails with bourbon...compared to ur regular bar u would laugh with embarrassment.

[bourboncc]

One of my local bars has PVW23 as well. What's a typical price for this stuff? $68 for a 2oz pour just seems outrageous. http://runchickenrun.com/assets/file...bon12.9FNL.pdf

[Restaurant man]

One of my local bars has PVW23 as well. What's a typical price for this stuff? $68 for a 2oz pour just seems outrageous. http://runchickenrun.com/assets/file...bon12.9FNL.pdf

It's too high. Wholesale is 200-250 per bottle. 24 oz in a bottle x $68 per pour is about $800 return. 25% cost is not necessary for a product with this dollar margin. But like most they are probably figuring "well we only got one bottle this time so...". They like to see it sitting up there. Don't want it to sell too fast. And someone will buy it at almost any price, I'm afraid