New Van Winkle 18YO? 120 proof for $120

[wadewood]

I was browsing at Binny's web site and came across this:

Van Winkle 18yr Old Cask Strength 'Binny's Handpicked'

We do a lot of barrel samples every once in awhile we run across perfection. This barrel blew us away. 18 years young this whiskey is all hard candy with undertones of pepper spice but the weight and velvet smoothness begged not to be cut. You can do that to your liking.

Reviewed By: Binny's

$119.99/btl

$1,350.00/case of 12

Buy by the case and save - $89.88

It also states 120 proof. Has anybody tried this yet? Anybody interesting in a 3-4 way case split?

[Tallica]

Haven't tried it but have one on the way.

[Paradox]

I saw that several months ago too but the price is keping me away right now. Sams had their barrel proof van winkle, which was a 20 year, available for $100. Maybe if they ever reduce it or have a sale on it I'll grab one, but until then this is one that unfortunately just won't see my shelf.

Andrew, please share with us your impressions if you open yours after it arrives.

[dgonano]

Mark,

I see that you have the PAL 18 yr old Van Winkle. Have you had a chance to taste it, or is it it for future consumption.

[Paradox]

Hi Dave,

Yeah, my friend Chris and I actually brought one to the gazebo last year during the festival for all to try. People must have liked it because it was one of the first bottles I saw empty! In all seriousness, I am guessing it was because it is inaccessible to many. Overall I thought it was a good bourbon. It was a little on the 'hot' or 'fiery' side, but that's what made it interesting since I found it to be similar yet different to many of Julian's other bottlings.

Mark

[Tallica]

I fear mine will sit on the shelf for awhile,waiting until I can appreciate it more.

I had a Hirsch when just starting to drink bourbon & in retospect I am appreciating Buffalo Trace more, so until my knowledge base expands it will gather dust.

[wadewood]

Well I went ahead and ordered 1 bottle. The case discount would have dropped it down to $90, which is more in line of other Van Winkle bottlings of this age.

[Paradox]

The case discount would have dropped it down to $90, which is more in line of other Van Winkle bottlings of this age.

Wouldn't the case discount have reduced the bottle price to $112.50? That's better than $120 but still a bit too high. For $100 a bottle, I'd probably be in and for $90 definately.

[Gillman]

I saw Van Winkle's 18 year old special bourbon bottling for Park Avenue Liquors (in New York) for $80.00. Decided to pass, that is well over $100.00 in Canadian and it seemed a lot of money. Has anyone tried this whiskey? Is it "worth" the price asked, i.e., intrinsically and not merely because of rarity?

Gary

[Paradox]

Has anyone tried this whiskey? Is it "worth" the price asked, i.e., intrinsically and not merely because of rarity?

Gary, the Park Ave bottling is the one I spoke of here a few posts down. This thread is getting confusing because we are talking about 2 18 yo van winkles. The 18 at park ave and the 18 barrel proof one at binny's. I'd fix it but there is no 'graft' function for me to do so...

[wadewood]

You are right about the case price. I saw the "Buy by the case and save - $89.88" and thought the price per bottle was $89.88.

[bluesbassdad]

Gary,

Your question touches on an area of lingering, great interest to me, namely the way differing income levels affect our perception of value.

As a retiree who sometimes wishes he were on a fixed income, I can tell you that the bottling in question is not worth $80 to me. In fact, I'm certain there can never be a bourbon that gives me four times the pleasure of Buffalo Trace, three times the pleasure of ORVW 10/107, or twice the pleasure of Rock Hill Farms. I bought both the Park Avenue and the Sam's special bottlings of Van Winkle, but I did so mainly out of curiousity -- to confirm my hypothesis that their rarity forced them to be priced well above their intrinsic value.

If my income were in the millions, then any tiny additional enjoyment that might come from an $80 bourbon as compared to one a fraction as expensive would be worth the additional cost.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Gillman]

Thanks Dave, and to Mark for mentioning that he had mentioned the taste of the Park Avenue bottling in this thread. I was at that Gazebo tasting but did not get to the bottle Mark kindly brought. I see now that more than one VW 18 year old is being discussed.

I have had one of the Rock Hill Farms bottlings, this was in a bar (so I could taste it first) and based on that I feel it is worth the price asked (about half or a little more than Park Avenue VW bottling) and ideally I'd like to try the Park Avenue VW first before committing to buying a bottle. Problem is it is not obtainable anywhere else exactly in that form although these other 18 year olds are likely similar (but then you won't find those in bars either, I know). While something will not generally taste three or four times as good as another product of the same type and generally is not (to me either) worth three or four times the price of those other products, if there is a good spike in quality I'd go for it. I guess I just like the chance to try, or have someone's opinion, before committing and this is true in fact for bottles of any price, no matter how low. I recall an expression from my food reading days, "a poor meal is never cheap", the point being, if something is not good the fact that its price is low doesn't make it better: I agree with that in whiskey too. To sum up, I'll go for something at different price ranges but I like to have an idea first of the price/quality ratio.

Gary

[cowdery]

I have had some American whiskey, distilled before Prohibition and bottled during Prohibition at 18 years old that I would definitely pay $100 for, in terms of the uniqueness and goodness of the taste justifying a high price. That stuff, of course, is not available on the open market at any price. Most of what is available today justifies its price based on its own uniqueness and limited availability, so it's just a matter of what you want and what your resources are. Single malts, where the prices are in a whole 'nuther dimension, are the same thing. Only the most unsophisticated shopper believes the $400 single malt is four times better than the $100 single malt. It's just that it is rare and limited, and the $400 price keeps the demand roughly in line with the supply, which is the point.