All your Van Winkle questions answered

[clingman71]

I don't want to die with any whiskey bunkered. I plan to drink the stuff while I still can.:grin:

Well said, and hopefully many years off!

[yountvillewjs]

I don't want to die with any whiskey bunkered. I plan to drink the stuff while I still can.:grin:

good catch - although I hope to leave a few bottles behind, as some of my favorite memories with people no longer with us are over a drink. and funerals are always such a bummer, why not let those amazing souls that showed up drink (and hopefully remember) well? Maybe not PVW well, but well nonetheless

[cowdery]

The folks at HH tell me the John E. Fitzgerald "Larceny" will be some good stuff. I'm hopeful.

[CaptainQ]

Oh well, pass me some 4R.

Amen to that brother! :toast:

[unclebunk]

good catch - although I hope to leave a few bottles behind, as some of my favorite memories with people no longer with us are over a drink. and funerals are always such a bummer, why not let those amazing souls that showed up drink (and hopefully remember) well? Maybe not PVW well, but well nonetheless

I'm with ya, man. It would actually be nice for someone in my family to walk in one day and feel like they'd hit the jackpot. And they could remember me with each sip from a special bottle. Bummer as they may be, I've had some extremely memorable occasions at Irish wakes, celebrating a departed friend's life with drink, stories and endless laughter. So I guess there really is a silver lining.

[AaronWF]

Oh well, pass me some 4R.

I say that a lot. It's actually quite appropriate in many, many situations, if not all situations.

My team lost! Oh well, pass me some FR.

It's raining! Oh well, pass me some FR.

I lost my job! Oh well, pass me some FR.

I just got a speeding ticket! Oh well, pass me some FR.

They called me in to work on my day off! Oh well, pass me some FR.

But I'm an airline pilot! Oh well, pass me some FR.

[CorvallisCracker]

I say that a lot. It's actually quite appropriate in many, many situations, if not all situations.

My team lost! Oh well, pass me some FR.

It's raining! Oh well, pass me some FR.

I lost my job! Oh well, pass me some FR.

I just got a speeding ticket! Oh well, pass me some FR.

They called me in to work on my day off! Oh well, pass me some FR.

But I'm an airline pilot! Oh well, pass me some FR.

This would explain a couple of videos I've seen recently.

[dridge11]

The folks at HH tell me the John E. Fitzgerald "Larceny" will be some good stuff. I'm hopeful.

Shhhh on the Larceny

I'm with Will. PVW was sort of the gateway bourbon, now there are lots of other shiny balls to chase. If I find it (or it finds me) I'll grab some. But I have a few bunkered and prefer the variety. It's great, but there is a lot of great stuff out there.

[Mickbourbon]

I thought I had addressed the Pappy 23 question, but I guess I only did so over on the Whisky Advocate Blog.

According to Julian, the Pappy 23 for the next several years is already in bottles and it’s all SW. The next time they bottle it, there will be BT in it. The next bottling of Pappy 20 will include BT. The Bernheim juice in the mix is just from that 1992-1999 window, so it’s 13- to 20-years-old now.

Personally, I’m a Lot B guy and it has continued to be great and, to my taste, virtually unchanged since the SW went out of the mix, so I think the future is bright for the line. The drinking of the last SW, when that day comes, will be notable but not tragic.

As for the Harlen stuff, I think that's already been beaten to death. All Julian was saying about 'not knowing' is that it's impossible to know what someone has, when it was bottled, and what exactly it contains. Except for the rye, it has for the last 10 years been SW, Bernheim and BT in various combinations.

For people who want clear and reliable information, I've done my best as a journalist to provide it. Julian and the BT folks have answered my every request without hesitation. There's nothing I can do about the people for whom that's no enough.

To me, the reasonable thing if you don't like the way somebody is doing business is to do business with somebody else and while it perhaps makes sense to express your dissatisfaction publically, at some point normal people just get on with it.

Thanks for the information Chuck. I guess this explains why the 3 bottles of 23 I purchased from last fall have an 08 date on them, this must have been going on for a while then I assume?

[mosugoji64]

The folks at HH tell me the John E. Fitzgerald "Larceny" will be some good stuff. I'm hopeful.

Chuck,

Any word on when it will hit shelves?

[cowdery]

Chuck,

Any word on when it will hit shelves?

I'm told there will be an official announcement in a month or so, leading me to believe it will be September, but maybe sooner.

I also learned a new term, but I won't say where: "COLA troller."

Note that's "troller," as in "to fish by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat," and not "troll," as in "an ogre who lives under a bridge."

[Lazer]

I'm told there will be an official announcement in a month or so, leading me to believe it will be September, but maybe sooner.

I also learned a new term, but I won't say where: "COLA troller."

Note that's "troller," as in "to fish by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat," and not "troll," as in "an ogre who lives under a bridge."

Some people like coming attractions. :grin:

[sutton]

Cheers to Pappy and what he created - Julian and Preston have to feel enormous pride in what Pappy accomplished.

They must also feel a bit awed by the responsibility of carrying it forward, knowing that so many are watching every detail!

[Lost Pollito]

Chuck,

Any word on when it will hit shelves?

My source...Distributor, says Fall releases only going forward. No more spring dribblers.

[cowdery]

Some people like coming attractions. :grin:

I'm one of them, and it's great for me when somebody else does all the work and just points me at the interesting stuff like "Larceny."

[Bmac]

The information is interesting and we should be thankful for Chuck's connections and that he is providing the info for free.

I honestly wish I could get more excited about it, but i have resigned to the fact that I will never be able to purchase any Pappy product so the info is practically useless to me except for trivia.

However, I can hope for the day that there is a market shift and people stop flipping it on eBay and then maybe I can buy a bottle at a reasonable price.

[Lost Pollito]

My source...Distributor, says Fall releases only going forward. No more spring dribblers.

Sorry...this was only about the VW's, not Larceny.

[macdeffe]

No posts in this thread for 14½ hours. I thought the world internet had broken down :-)

Steffen

[clingman71]

My source...Distributor, says Fall releases only going forward. No more spring dribblers.

Is this all VW? Or just PVW?

[Lost Pollito]

Is this all VW? Or just PVW?

They told me it was for all of them. Perhaps that's just Chicago though.

[Restaurant man]

Atlanta too on fall only according to sazarac

[politely]

Well, I'm not a birther and I appreciate the disclosure, but I like honesty about what I'm drinking. There's been a lot of confusion, and frankly, it seems to me it could have been (and is) easily preventable. Also, with the recent prices of the PVW's, particularly the 23, I think it's a bit disingenuous to say that provenance doesn't matter. The rarity clearly plays a role in how much people are willing to pay. For example, imagine a single malt for which the bottler isn't willing to confirm the distillery, or for that matter, any grand cru. While not entirely apples to apples, it surely makes a difference. Would I be willing to pay more for a highly regarded whisky irrespective of distiller? Yes. Does knowing the scarcity play a role in how much I'll pay, how much I'll buy and when I'll buy? Yes. And, to be clear, more specifically, would I be willing to pay more for SW juice, knowing that there will never be more? Yes.

[PaulO]

I don't mean for this to sound too cynical, but I think it will be great when it's all nothing but BT product, and much of the soap opera can end. Knowing it's from some of BT's better barrels, I would probably consider buying some ORVW, or Lot B, if it's available, and close to a reasonable retail price. I have in the past, purchased two bottles of ORVW 90, on different ocasions, at the same store. I have to say, the first bottle was much better. The second bottle was ok, but drier, and less flavor overall. It didn't inspire me to go on some big quest to find more. The funny thing is, I had the exact same experience with Weller 12. The Weller 12 I bought in Chicago a few years ago was some of my most favorite bourbon ever. The recent version I've tried is good, but not spectacular. I don't think it's my imagination. I could name several other brands that seem to have been more consistant, and others that are variable.

[timd]

The funny thing is, I had the exact same experience with Weller 12. The Weller 12 I bought in Chicago a few years ago was some of my most favorite bourbon ever. The recent version I've tried is good, but not spectacular. I don't think it's my imagination.

Did you buy it at Binny's? If so, it was likely a single-barrel store pick of the W12. They had one a few years back that was a-maz-ing.

Could easily explain the difference if that was your source.

[cowdery]

Are you a Van Winkle fan who is feeling put-out by facts you recently learned about the brand?

If so, please contact me by PM. I'd like to ask you a few questions for an article I'm doing.