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Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year


spinningrecords
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Today I picked up a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23-year for the relatively reasonable price of $219. I found it interesting that it has a bottle code from 2008 (K21108xx:xx) on it. I check my other bottles of the same label and the newest is K04209. Albeit my purchases are a limited sample, it makes me wonder if any 23-year product has been bottled in the past three years. Even the special edition 23-year came out in 2009. The year 2009 minus a minimum of 23 years is 1986 and not surprisingly putting it squarely in the camp of Stitzel-Weller distillate. It seems to me that it's quite possible all of the SW juice might already be bottled and it is being allocated slowly until the age of Weller mash bill juice fits the label. That's my observation anyway based on what I know.

Edited by spinningrecords
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I think you just ran into older bottles. I bunkered one last year for $209 and it had a code from 2010 (maybe 2009, I need to double check) - I imagine it was sitting around the shop since then due to the price. If I recall, BT has now switched up the bottling codes so the newer codes are not decipherable.

I think the new 23 is a mingling of S/W and BT; enjoy that 2008, it may be some of the last Stitzel Weller you ever buy.

Edited by LostBottle
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They have changed the order of the code but I think it's still knowable. My recollection is the year and day swapped. Last years PVW20 started with M12 or B12 then followed by the three digit day of the year.

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I'm no expert, but I had read that all the SW Pappy23 was bottled when those barrels matured to 23 years and that each year Julian VW just releases 3,000 of them out through the distribution network.

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I think you just ran into older bottles. I bunkered one last year for $209 and it had a code from 2010 (maybe 2009, I need to double check) - I imagine it was sitting around the shop since then due to the price. If I recall, BT has now switched up the bottling codes so the newer codes are not decipherable.

I think the new 23 is a mingling of S/W and BT; enjoy that 2008, it may be some of the last Stitzel Weller you ever buy.

According to Whisky Advocate this year's 23 is all SW and was bottled prior to this year. They also say that the next time it is bottled it will have BT bourbon in it. Take that for what it's worth, though.

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When I see the title of this thread, it makes me feel dead inside. Anyone else?

I just can't take another thread about this.

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When I see the title of this thread, it makes me feel dead inside. Anyone else?

I just can't take another thread about this.

Then why contribute to it? Just move on to a thread that keeps you feeling like life's worth living.

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In the last year I have purchased 3 bottles of the 23. 2 of them are K20608 and one is K30408. They are all I believe from the 2011 fall allocation.

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Yes I have! The PVW23 bottle is in the office closet IIRC.

You're among friends. Time to come out of the closet, Tommy!:lol:

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The PVW 23 I just got from a Chicago area Binny's -- i.e. fall 2012 release -- has a 2008 bottling date. And tastes more or less exactly the same as one that I bought from a retailer last fall that had sat there since 2008.

I realize it's silly to do but sorta trying to actually respond to the OP.

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Can anyone tell me where to get a bottle of Pappys Van Winkle?

Is Pappys Van Winkle a $10 knockoff in a similar bottle to the real thing, like the "Louis III" cognac available for $22 at my favorite discount liquor store for those who can't quite flash the cash for a $2200 bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII? :grin:

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I had 23 in a restaurant tonight in NYC I am not sure if I would buy a bottle given the opportunity and price. Don't get me wrong, it was great, but I can get so much other for the price I am not sure the taste justifies it. Maybe I just have some jacked up taste buds.

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The last time I saw a Pappy on the shelf I passed because that's not what I went to the store to buy and it's price exceeded my interest. A fellow standing next to me promptly grabbed it. The guys at checkout told me their total allocation was three bottles which sold out in less than 30 minutes.

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Balassit, if your taste buds are jacked up, then so are mine. I've had a couple of bottles of "standard" 23 (clear glass, non-decanter) and it's much woodier and dryer than I prefer. I had a chance to taste some 23 from the commemorative decanter and found it much livelier, but still not a great match for my tastes.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Balassit, if your taste buds are jacked up, then so are mine. I've had a couple of bottles of "standard" 23 (clear glass, non-decanter) and it's much woodier and dryer than I prefer. I had a chance to taste some 23 from the commemorative decanter and found it much livelier, but still not a great match for my tastes.

I've only had the pleasure of tasting from the 2012 fall release but I had the exact sentiments. I thought it was dry and dare I say lacking a bit of character. I found the 15 on the other hand to be far superior. The nose, palate, finish were all amazing while the 23 was lazy.

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I've only had the pleasure of tasting from the 2012 fall release but I had the exact sentiments. I thought it was dry and dare I say lacking a bit of character. I found the 15 on the other hand to be far superior. The nose, palate, finish were all amazing while the 23 was lazy.

There is no "Fall 2012 release." They've been slowly releasing "C" and "D" bottles from 2008 for the past couple of years. Unless there is a new "E" bottling with a 2012 date code, we're drinking the last of the SW PVW23 methinks!

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There is no "Fall 2012 release." They've been slowly releasing "C" and "D" bottles from 2008 for the past couple of years. Unless there is a new "E" bottling with a 2012 date code, we're drinking the last of the SW PVW23 methinks!

That is very interesting! Thank you for teaching me something!

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That is very interesting! Thank you for teaching me something!

This is also why I've been keen on finding PVW23 this year. It's only a matter of time before they run out and do a new dump.

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This is also why I've been keen on finding PVW23 this year. It's only a matter of time before they run out and do a new dump.

Have you had the 15 this year? Its supposed to be all BT juice and if that is any indication of how the rest of the Pappy line will shape up, I think we will be fine. :D

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Lineage aside (or maybe not), is it just a matter of demand for the inflated PVW prices in FL? A friend saw a 20yr at $200 in a store!

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Lineage aside (or maybe not), is it just a matter of demand for the inflated PVW prices in FL? A friend saw a 20yr at $200 in a store!

That is outrageous. I've read a few different places that people think the Pappy craze will subside in a couple of years but I highly doubt that. We are in the middle of a whiskey bubble and the demand around the world is as high as its ever been.

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