Found Some Pappy Van Winkle 20Yr On The Way Home

[MJL]

I am still trying to make my way around to survey the smaller liquor stores in this area about their selections. Not too far from where I work I found a small store that showed little promise from the street. As I entered I was astonished to see they had a few bottles of Pappy Van Winkle 15 year, 20 year and Family Reserve Rye. For the record I have seen exactly one bottle of 20 year old in this area and the price was $109. Perhaps there is more Van Winkle in SoFla but I have yet to uncover it. These bottles were the only ones in the store that had no prices so I asked the clerk for the price. The clerk spoke no English and my Spanish is marginal but I was further surprised to find the 20 year old Pappy Van Winkle priced at $69 per bottle, the 15 year old at $59 and the Rye at $49. Again, these things are just not seen in this area....at all. I decided to pick up the 20 year old as I KNEW those prices were amazing but I held off on the rest so I could go do some research on what these things go for. Any ideas if $59 for the 15 year old is right? This running around hitting booze stores is kind of fun!

[MJL]

Oh, by the way one more note about this store. I took the two bottles of 20 year old to the counter and noticed an unusual bottle of Wild Turkey on the shelf. The bottle turned out to be an older bottle of Russel Reserve 101 so I took that home too for $25. I only wish they had more that that one odd bottle.

[spun_cookie]

Nice haul. Great prices on the 20 year and the 101. The 15yr is too much... Should be $45-50...

Go get the other 20 year

[smokinjoe]

You're a quick study, MJ. You done real good!

:toast:

[JamesW]

Nice find. I'd get that last 20 and pick up a 15 anyways. It's a bit pricey but the new prices on the 15 are in the $55-$65 range now anyhow. It's my favorite and well worth paying a few bucks extra to have on hand IMHO.

[mozilla]

I think you did real well. You picked the ones I would have chosen. Though, James might be right...if you have the extra dough and are really into the VW line...go ahead and jump on the 15, at least one. That way you won't kick yourself later...when it's gone.

[MJL]

Thanks for all the interesting responses. There is much here to consider. I have not examined every booze seller in the area but the area I have pretty much examined most in the southern part of the county. I can say that the entire Van Winkle line seems to be a non existent commodity. If I consider how much it costs me to fetch some in from out of state I can justify spending a few extra dollars to buy this product locally.

I took that last two bottles of 20 year old they had in stock. Again my Spanish stinks but my understanding from the clerk was that this was all they had. Regardless, I will be back there looking for more soon. They did still have the two bottles of 15 year old and two bottles of the Family Reserve Rye left on the shelf. Is the rye worth the $49 per bottle? I cannot seem to see any of this for sale online as no one has it in stock. This is true of the 15 year old as well. I may be chagrined to find these products up in Broward county for less but I reckon I would rather be in a situation to be chagrined with booze in house than not.

[jimibourbonhammered]

Look here: http://www.colonialwineandspirits.com/wine-store/pappy-van-winkle-20yo-750-ml-p-12007.html

See what has happened to Pappy 20 in my area. Good thing I got 3 bottles when it was still $90. The 15 is still in the mid $40's.

[MJL]

Jim,

Wow, that is somewhat shocking. One has to question how many, if any bottles they sell at that price. The area I live in is not a heavy demand area for any Whiskeys. This area is mostly Latino and thus Rum, Tequila and Vodka are the big spirits in demand. That said, the Bourbons I find are usually way over priced but I have been buying the proverbial dusty bottles that were over priced years ago and scarcity has caught up with those high prices. This accounts for the reason I keep asking what others are paying for items as I cannot use the posted prices for whiskeys of any type in this area as a rule. I reckon I am at the "accumulating" phase right now and am picking up what I consider bargains as I see them. I can see I am going to have to clean out the stragglers from that shop.

[kickert]

I had the 20 year old last night and was not impressed. Now I know what people mean when they say it is too "oaky." I expected more char, but ended up with a more tannic flavor. I am going to to have cross post and put this experiance in the "most disappointing thread."

Don't get me wrong, it is a good bourbon and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had great balance and was easy to drink, but there are so many bourbons under $30 I would rather have.

[funknik]

On my shopping trip to Mass. this weekend, I saw the PVW15 for $65 which I passed up for the $42 VW12 Lot B. Pappy 20 weighed in at around $94 if memory serves -- good eye, MJ.

[wildcatdon]

MJL, I am late with a response but my last purchase here in Louisville about 3 weeks ago yielded this..12 yr old Rip Van Winkle Lot B $40.22

15 Yr old Pappy Van Winkle $40.62...The Van Winkle reserve price you mentioned might be a little high but not too bad..That is very good stuff and it might behoove you to get it when you have a chance..I also got the 10 yr old Old Rip Van Winkle 107 for $26.79..Hope this helps down the line.

[jimibourbonhammered]

I have one bottle of Lot "B" left from a few years ago. I haven't had it since I got into the PVW15. Anyone compared the current Lot "B" to 3 or 4 years ago? I may pick one up soon for research purposes;)

[OscarV]

Anyone compared the current Lot "B" to 3 or 4 years ago?

I can't comment on Lot B of 3 or 4 years ago.

But the recent release is one of the best bourbons I have ever had.

[smokinjoe]

I can't comment on Lot B of 3 or 4 years ago.

But the recent release is one of the best bourbons I have ever had.

Yes sir, Oscar. I agree 100%. This year's release is outstanding!

[jburlowski]

I can't comment on Lot B of 3 or 4 years ago.

But the recent release is one of the best bourbons I have ever had.

Oscar, I heartedly concur. Simply incredible stuff.

Surprisingly, in local stores PVW 15 is currently only about $4 more than the Lot B. Makes the choice a little tougher... so, of course, I buy both

[Skunk]

Yes sir, Oscar. I agree 100%. This year's release is outstanding!

Does anyone know if there's a way to date a bottle of Lot B?

Does 04.6084 match anyone else's from this year, or is that number likely meaningless?

[jimibourbonhammered]

Does anyone know if there's a way to date a bottle of Lot B?

Does 04.6084 match anyone else's from this year, or is that number likely meaningless?

Not totally meaningless. mine is the same and it's at least two years old. All my Pappy 15yo are 04.6074.01 and Old Rip 15yo is the same 04.6074 without the .01, so it means something I just don't think you can tell what year they are by that.

[OscarV]

Does anyone know if there's a way to date a bottle of Lot B?

Does 04.6084 match anyone else's from this year, or is that number likely meaningless?

[Skunk]

Thanks guys. Looks like I should get the newer one to compare them.

Being impatient I emailed jvanwinkle (after calling and getting the machine), so if I get a response re: the number's meaning I'll post back.

[callmeox]

Isn't that the part number for the label?

[jimibourbonhammered]

Isn't that the part number for the label?

That makes sense. If there was a bottling code it would most likely be stamped on the bottle.

[OscarV]

Yeah, it probably is a label code.

I have the same number on several different Pappy's and Old Rip's.

But it is worth a try when trying to get the current release of Lot B to get the,

04.6084.01

over the,

04.6084

Also ask a high volume retailer about his inventory turn over.

[Skunk]

According to Julian 'this year's bottling should have a pressure sensitive label rather than glue on, and the front label is lower on the bottle than it should be- not quite centered'.

Time to go hunting.

[callmeox]

Here's what Julian said in another Lot B thread:

Just so you guys don't go crazy trying to figure out codes, the # in the Lot B front label is a part # for that front label. All of our labels have a part #.

Thanks for the favorable reviews. I agree-It's a really good bottling!

Julian

I assume that's the code that we're talking about. the .01 may mean that it is the new pressure sensitive label that Skunk is referring to.