New Van Winkle Bottling for Woodside Partners

[Barrel_Proof]

Woodside Partners' Reserve is a new private bottling from Julian Van Winkle for Tim Stannard's Village Pub in Woodside, California. These notes come from a conversation and exchange of e-mails with Stannard. This is what I have learned.

Stannard approached Van Winkle about doing the first private label bottling for the Village Pub (they intend to bottle other spirits, as well). Julian first sent him samples of various flavor profiles and it was then determined that Stannard's group was looking for a teenage wheater. Stannard then visited Buffalo Trace to select from among 12 wheat recipe barrels aged 15 to 17 years on middle floors that had been identified as matching the desired profile. The ninth barrel tested, a 17 year old, proved to be the "honey barrel" that tickled Stannard's fancy. After selecting it, a warehouseman told him that his barrel had been a window-sitter. The whiskey was barreled on June 10, 1985 and bottled at 92.4 proof on September 9, 2002.

Only 200, individually numbered bottles of this 17 yo, 92.4 proof bourbon exist. It sells for $50 a bottle and is available only at the Village Pub. At my request, Stannard is setting aside a few bottles for Forum members, which I will pick up on my next trip to California.

Hopefully our California bourbonians can post some tasting notes. As many of you know, Julian's private bottlings for the Society of Bourbon Connaisseurs, although older in age, have been reported here as extraordinary bourbons. This may be his first private labeling since becoming part of the Buffalo Trace family, so I would expect that all involved were especially motivated to bottle yet another fine product in this instance as well. I think we are in for a treat!

I can't wait to taste it!