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

[MissinER101]

After reading the recent posts; I had to go have a small pour; dang this bottle is going fast :cry:

[SMOWK]

OK BOTM - Do Not let me down - you are an elusive little sucker!!!

Be careful. The bottle number is 666(upside down 6)

[Medicfrost]

Is the number on the bottle the bottle number, or is it significant for something else?

[HipFlask]

I usually would not pick on someones taste and description but this. "ORVW = eucalyptus, ash, lead pencil". Lead Pencil! Ash. Really Lead Pencil. How would you know lead pencil. LoL my friend. At any rate ORVW 10yr 107 is outstanding bourbon. Definitely sweet and full of vanilla and Carmel. I always try to some around which has certainly become harder to do. Also very nice description FishnbowlJoe.

[DeanSheen]

"ORVW = eucalyptus, ash, lead pencil". Lead Pencil! Ash. Really Lead Pencil. How would you know lead pencil.

[Medicfrost]

I usually would not pick on someones taste and description but this. "ORVW = eucalyptus, ash, lead pencil". Lead Pencil! Ash. Really Lead Pencil. How would you know lead pencil. LoL my friend. At any rate ORVW 10yr 107 is outstanding bourbon. Definitely sweet and full of vanilla and Carmel. I always try to some around which has certainly become harder to do. Also very nice description FishnbowlJoe.

Its strange, but when I was rating pencils, I mentioned that the DIXON #2 pencil tastes like ORVW 10/107.

[CaptainQ]

Aww you must have been one of those smart kids that never chewed on his pencils.

But seriously, the taste of a number 2 yellow pencil.... very distinct, never goes away.

I never chewed on my pencils, but I remember the smell from the classroom sharpener and it's one I'll never forget. The only bourbon I've sampled that had that distinct nose and taste was from a handle of '70 era SW Cabin Still.

[foxflyer5]

i like the ORVW. but once i found the PVW, its hard to go back. but its a very nice bourbon. i get hints of tea when i taste it. its funny, most of my favorite bourbons hit my palate like a dark brewed tea.

[Chuckles]

i like the ORVW. but once i found the PVW, its hard to go back. but its a very nice bourbon.

I've only been sampling top-shelf bourbon for less than a year (been a bourbon drinker for decades), and still working on my tasting notes, but the ORVW 10/107 is my favorite store find so far, including a Pappy 20. -Chuckles

(PS: Can somebody steer me to the page where I can learn how to properly pull a quote and learn the other posting tricks?)

[silverfish]

(PS: Can somebody steer me to the page where I can learn how to properly pull a quote and learn the other posting tricks?)

In your post #59, it looks like you forgot to include the

[T Comp]

I spent time last night tasting side by side, recent releases of ORVW 107 and OWA. Quite a lesson in their differences and I'll assume the role of age, barrel selection and brand profile. When compared OWA = sweeter, more citrus (orange/tropical) fruit, sweet candy, cream, higher heat in the mouth and shorter finish. ORVW = eucalyptus, ash, lead pencil, more caramel, more vanilla and more complexity with long dry finish. Both are so good in their own right but ORVW 107 is a top contender for my stranded on an island bourbon and worth the extra $15 to $20 price point.

I usually would not pick on someones taste and description but this. "ORVW = eucalyptus, ash, lead pencil". Lead Pencil! Ash. Really Lead Pencil. How would you know lead pencil. LoL my friend.

Lead pencil is quite a common descriptor used in many a wine review and is generally attributed to a heavier char in the oak barrel used. A little google searching shows it also used by Mr. Pacult in his description of both EC 18 and VWFR. Also my "taste and description purposefully blurs smells with tastes and though I actually never did suck on a lead pencil I surely know the smell and can imagine the taste. Having spent some time with smoking meats I do know both the smell and taste of ash. I also spent about 20 years learning and tasting as much as I could about wine so some terms just kinda stick with ya my friend.

Spirit Journal description (Van Winkle Family Reserve)

“The palate entry is spicy, piquant, prickly and raisiny; at midpalate the taste profile features lead pencil, slate, black pepper, brown butter, and deep-seared oak. Finishes with an ash-like, chewy, and oily aftertaste that’s smashingly luscious…. American whiskey doesn’t come any finer.â€

Elijah Craig 18

"Deep amber hue. Opening nosing passes detect a no-nonsense bouquet laced with an astringent oakiness that???s crisp, clean and direct; later sniffings pick up layered scents of corn husk, buttered popcorn, resin, lead pencil and a hint of caramel. Flavor shows fat tastes of old oak, cream, almond butter, bacon fat, vanilla extract and smoke. Aftertaste is warming and semisweet."

- Paul Pacult

[squire]

It's the Blackbird syndrome some reviewers fall into. When one Blackbird lands on the wire a bunch land there and when one flys off the others follow. With all the descriptive words available one would think reviews could be original but apparently copying one another is easier.

What the Hell does slate taste like and I would like to meet the reviewer who first licked the rock.

[JB64]

I had been looking at this bottle of ORVW at my local liquor store for a few weeks but kept passing on buying it because of the $40 price. I knew my wife would grump but I bought it last Friday and I am glad I did. This is the only Van Winkle product I have had the pleasure to sample and it is without a doubt the best Bourbon I have ever tasted. I have tried about 15 other Bourbons and all of them but two have cost less than $25. The taste of this ORVW is in a different class. There is a bottle of PVW 23 at the store for $200 which I have always thought "you got to be kidding" but after trying the BOTM is see more grumping in my wifes future.

Jim

[White Dog]

I had been looking at this bottle of ORVW at my local liquor store for a few weeks but kept passing on buying it because of the $40 price. I knew my wife would grump but I bought it last Friday and I am glad I did. This is the only Van Winkle product I have had the pleasure to sample and it is without a doubt the best Bourbon I have ever tasted. I have tried about 15 other Bourbons and all of them but two have cost less than $25. The taste of this ORVW is in a different class. There is a bottle of PVW 23 at the store for $200 which I have always thought "you got to be kidding" but after trying the BOTM is see more grumping in my wifes future.

Jim

[CaptainQ]

Although, you should have heard my wife when she just found a new stash of 4 15yrs, 3 20yrs, and 6 VWFRR. And yes, she knows just how much they cost.:grin:

Ouch, I bet your ears are still ringing! :grin:

Nice stash btw

[squire]

Woops, wife radar alert. It's either decant in empty bottles with cheap labels or take her shopping.

[DeanSheen]

"Although, you should have heard my wife when she just found a new stash of 4 15yrs, 3 20yrs, and 6 VWFRR. And yes, she knows just how much they cost.:grin:"

Whoops. Mine does not even pay attention. Out of sight, out of mind.

[silverfish]

It's either decant in empty bottles with cheap labels or take her shopping.

It's a variation of Herb Tarlek on WKRP when asked what he was doing

pouring something from one bottle into another - "Aging Scotch."

[squire]

I believe it was Passport, his hand obscured the label, poured into an empty Chivas Regal bottle.

[jcg9779]

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

Can he make it four in a row??? :skep:

[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.

[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.