Old Rip Van Winkle 15 Bottle Numbers

[GoodBoozeLover]

I recently acquired some ORVW15. The bottles are numbered on the label. Is there a way of detemining the bottling date from these numbers?

[spun_cookie]

Best way is to look at the year mark on the bottom of the bottle. There has been some discussion here of late that the bottle numbers do not mean anything...

And Welcome to the site GBL. What else are you drinking? How do you like the ORVW 15/107?

Happy Drinking

Emerald

[Special Reserve]

GBL,

1st welcome

2nd where was the bottle distilled? Lawrenceburg or Frankfort?

Either one is very good, with Lawrenceburg being the more preferred by most.

Will

[GoodBoozeLover]

Thank you both, Spun_Cookie and Special Reserve, for a warm welcome. I'm not a poor searcher, but I just couldn't nail down prior threads that addressed my problem with enough clarity for this old head.

Both bottles claim Frankfort. The markings on the bottle bottoms seem like fodder for a sequel to the Da Vinci nonsense. There isn't a straightforward "date" code.

I apologize for bringing what must be a newer than novice question to the wrong forum discussion group.

I had tasted ORVW15 a local bar and it was the first really pleasant bourbon I had tasted. Since then I have tried all the VW offerings. After getting some PVW15 and feeling it wasn't the same as ORVW15 I set out to get the ORVW15 for a taste test. The ORVW15 has been difficult to find, and the bottles are stoppered with twist-off style caps, so I thought it a good idea to try to verify the bottling I bought, thus the question.

From my taste test, I agree with most of what has been said on this forum. The PVW15 is different enough from the ORVW15 to state a preference.

Thanks again for the nice welcome and the help.

[spun_cookie]

No worries. Did not mean to imply you should search, just refernancing a previous discussion.

All Old Rip 15/107s are good. The Louisvilles are better, but your talking very good to very, very good...

Look forward to you posts

[ACDetroit]

GBL, if you look on the bottom of the bottle you should see a 2 digit code at the quarters. You may find something in the 90's or early 2000's but it will be the last 2 digits of the year on the bottom of the bottle.

Hope this helps and welcome to the board. Oh yeah if you can not find what you are looking for in the search function then as you did, and by all means ask!

Hope you enjoy your stay here!

Cheers!

Tony

[GoodBoozeLover]

ACDetroit,

Bottom of the bottle 1 has the following:

"Smudged" stamps nearly opposite each other, one="42" and the other="02"

In the other quarters, also at opposites, are a symbol and the numbers "3516", the other quarter being a raised circle containing "24".

Bottom of bottle 2 has:

Identical markings except the raised circle contains "19" (assuming the orientation of the numbers is that same as bottle 1's).

So there are markings at each quarter. ???

(I know this all seems like leading someone to the 2-ply dispenser from the other side of the door, sorry)

[ACDetroit]

Not a problem and it sounds like both you bottles are from 2002! I'm hanging with the kids or I'd run down and see what year mine are. Drink em up and remember you may not find more! I know I have picked up everyone I have come across!

Tony

[GoodBoozeLover]

ACDetroit,

Thanks very much. 2002 seems the only date that makes sense and I feel a little dumb (not a whole lot dumb) for thinking I had a new map clue for National Treasure.

I paid a silly premium for these bottles and will definitely drink 'em to the bottom.

2 cents - The nose of the two VW15s is very different and leads me to believe that somehow the barreling differs-wood choice, or depth of char, or a bad day at BlackRock. The tastes are different too. I much prefer the ORVW15.

Someone in this forum wrote that VWs are a moving target (sorry for not giving the author proper credit for the statement) and I'm of the opinion that he was absolutely the most spot-on.

Thanks, to the forum and those that responded.

[bluesbassdad]

Welcome, GBL.

You mentioned that PVW 15 was the first bourbon you really enjoyed. I have a suggestion that might serve to broaden your horizons in an enjoyable way.

Try Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye. It's not easy to find because it's bottled in small quantities on a rather irregular basis. I find it to be as enjoyable as the VW bourbons, if not more so. The interesting part is that the PVW bourbons contain no rye. So why should both the VW bourbon and VW rye be so appealling to me? I can't explain it.

If you find that your taste is similar to mine in this regard, then you have opened the possibility that you may enjoy some of the rye-recipe bourbons, which outnumber the wheaters by about 50 to one.

BTW, if you click on the screen name that appears to the left-hand side of each post, you can view that member's public profile, which in most cases includes his/her favorite bottlings. For that reason I won't bother to repeat mine here.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[bluesbassdad]

Sloppy speed-reader that I am, I had missed the fact that you have both ORVW 15 and PVW 15.

Perhaps someone has mentioned that the ORVW 15 is no longer being bottled. When the PVW 15 first came out, I didn't enjoy it as much as the ORVW 15. However, I eventually came to like it for what it is, not as a substitute for the bottling it replaced.

I think I still have a few drops of the old one. Do I dare renew the comparison (I ask myself rhetorically)? Or would I diminish my enjoyment of the PVW? Tough call.

Julian Van Winkle has written here about the two bottlings, but I don't recall the gist of it. I'll try to find the post and share the link to it.

Here's one. You may find this whole thread of interest. At least read the first four posts, including Julian's. And another one. You may find even more posts of interest among the dozens of hits that show up with an Advanced Search for keyword: Pappy and user: jvanwinkle.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield