About All Things Pappy/VanWinkle

[portwood]

Upping production would be slaying the Golden Goose.

Agree.

Eventually customers will move on to the next flavour of the day. THEN, PVW & Co will change strategy ... or disappear completely.

[Tony Santana]

Not that they'd want to kill the golden goose, but if they wanted to burst the bubble they could just put out a crapload of Pappy that wasn't necessarily Pappy quality (however one may want to define it). The great majority of people drinking it wouldn't know the difference anyway.

[typoerror]

its not even the quality of pappy that created the bubble, its the limited availability. just like ferrari does with its hyper/super cars. having something so limited is a social status symbol. once everyone else has it, it loses its luster.

that wont happen anytime soon because even if they did up production(they already did some) its going to be a long time before its ready.

Edited April 17, 2015 by typoerror

[squire]

Quite so, I think the subtitles of high end spirits are lost on a number of consumers who can afford them.

[compliance]

Quite so, I think the subtitles of high end spirits are lost on a number of consumers who can afford them.

I'm not into foreign films Squire, I drink bourbon.

[meadeweber]

Quite so, I think the subtitles of high end spirits are lost on a number of consumers who can afford them.

I'm not into foreign films Squire, I drink bourbon.

:grin: My brain read "subtleties". Funny how that works.

Good on you compliance for catching that and for your clever comment.

[squire]

Spellcheck and inattention.

[kjbeggs]

Let's beat this horse some more...

http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/inside-the-great-pappy-van-winkle-heist

[RWBadley]

Let's beat this horse some more...

http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/inside-the-great-pappy-van-winkle-heist

What a bunch of boobs.

Hmmm... I would consider taking on the job of destroying the evidence.

[LCWoody]

I wonder if it will make it back to BT.

[Robbie BTAC]

Hello just need a little help with trying to find a date out for my bottle, it has the old style dot matrix which has faded very badly but the bottle code is C5185 could someone be able tell me what year it is? Thanks

[Restaurant man]

Hello just need a little help with trying to find a date out for my bottle, it has the old style dot matrix which has faded very badly but the bottle code is C5185 could someone be able tell me what year it is? Thanks

[shoshani]

its not even the quality of pappy that created the bubble, its the limited availability.

[Robbie BTAC]

Is this a VWFRR? If so you're looking at a 2012 bottle.

[Restaurant man]

sorry it's the 23yrs

The numbers are meaningless. It's easier to date if you can find the imprinted laser code on the bottle. It's a 12 or so code of letters and a number. Usually on the bottom section on the back. Not the bottom of the bottle just toward the bottom

[Robbie BTAC]

I has a dot matrix code starting with K but some of the rest is smudged so very hard to tell I'm sure it an 08 bottle

[unclebunk]

I've had trouble reading the codes on some of the bottles of Pappy that I own, as it requires looking through the whiskey to a number on the "inside" of the back label and some of the letters/numbers are backwards, making it look like Russian to me. I think SKU once wrote a nice piece on how to decipher the code but I can't find it.

[nd2005]

I has a dot matrix code starting with K but some of the rest is smudged so very hard to tell I'm sure it an 08 bottle

If it is a dot matrix style printing, and starts with a K it's the old bottle codes. So you know off the bat it is '11 or older.

The key to breaking down the codes is as follows:

You have a code that reads (for example): K 111 11 11:11

K = bottling line

Next three numbers (111) = day of the year that it was bottled on (i.e. the 111th day of the year)

Next two numbers (11) = year (2011)

Next four numbers (11:11) = time of day it was bottled (military time)

If this code is smudged, then unfortunately you're not going to be able to date it exactly. You need the first five numbers to determine the year.

[unclebunk]

If it is a dot matrix style printing, and starts with a K it's the old bottle codes. So you know off the bat it is '11 or older.

The key to breaking down the codes is as follows:

You have a code that reads (for example): K 111 11 11:11

K = bottling line

Next three numbers (111) = day of the year that it was bottled on (i.e. the 111th day of the year)

Next two numbers (11) = year (2011)

Next four numbers (11:11) = time of day it was bottled (military time)

If this code is smudged, then unfortunately you're not going to be able to date it exactly. You need the first five numbers to determine the year.

That's very helpful. Thanks for posting that. I once tried to take a picture of the code so that I could enlarge it on my phone for easier reading but it was blurry as hell. I do know for certain that I bought my Pappy 15's back in 2008 and don't think I've seen one since!

[KyleCBreese]

From the Buffalo Trace press release today:

"The long anticipated annual release of the Van Winkle bourbons is nearly here, but unfortunately some of the angels were extra greedy over the past two decades, leaving us less bourbon than in previous years."

"Unfortunately this year we experienced poor yields on the older Van Winkle whiskeys. Furthermore, we have strict quality standards here at Buffalo Trace and several of the older Van Winkle barrels did not meet those standards. This makes a drastic difference in volume, considering we have very few barrels as it is. The result is less 15 year-old Pappy Van Winkle than usual, and far less 20 year-old and 23 year-old. Frankly, about half as much as last year."

[Tony Santana]

From the Buffalo Trace press release today:

"The long anticipated annual release of the Van Winkle bourbons is nearly here, but unfortunately some of the angels were extra greedy over the past two decades, leaving us less bourbon than in previous years."

"Unfortunately this year we experienced poor yields on the older Van Winkle whiskeys. Furthermore, we have strict quality standards here at Buffalo Trace and several of the older Van Winkle barrels did not meet those standards. This makes a drastic difference in volume, considering we have very few barrels as it is. The result is less 15 year-old Pappy Van Winkle than usual, and far less 20 year-old and 23 year-old. Frankly, about half as much as last year."

What's going on in those BT warehouses? First the GTS, now the VW? Leaky barrels?

[jp_stargazer]

So the older Van Winkle barrels that "did not meet those standards" get added to next year's WLW? Maybe W12? Or is there going to be a very limited NDP bottling that will be rumored to be the "not quite good enough Pappy 23." If Black Maple Hill releases a new wheater in the coming months, God help us all. :grin:

Jason

[petrel800]

Or it could just be BT stoking the fire of marketing hype. Not saying they didn't actually have less, but the Eric Cartman "You can't come" marketing strategy has been outstanding for BT and VW. They appear to love feeding the hype of exclusivity, limited supply and shortages all while releasing new products and raising prices. All of this has driven customers to their lower every day shelf products and that is where the dollar is, VW and BTAC sure doesn't keep the lights on and the salaries flowing.

[meadeweber]

Or it could just be BT stoking the fire of marketing hype. Not saying they didn't actually have less, but the Eric Cartman "You can't come" marketing strategy has been outstanding for BT and VW. They appear to love feeding the hype of exclusivity, limited supply and shortages all while releasing new products and raising prices. All of this has driven customers to their lower every day shelf products and that is where the dollar is, VW and BTAC sure doesn't keep the lights on and the salaries flowing.

Do you really think they need to do that? We are talking about Pappy.

[smokinjoe]

"We're all versed on Pappy." "Pappy hype is only for the dupes, not us enthusiasts." "We're not hooked in." "Most of us won't even seek it out this year...if it falls in our laps we'll take one." "We won't pay extra or secondary." "We're all way above the fray, here." "There are so many other bourbons that are on the shelf and cheaper that we enjoy." "We're all so over this..."

I predict at least 10 more pages in this thread by the weekend...

Edited October 14, 2015 by smokinjoe