Van Winkle Lot "A"

[bluesbassdad]

At a recent, modest gathering here, I was surprised to learn that two guests I had pegged as favoring pink drinks with little umbrellas turned out to be interested in sampling my assortment of bourbons.

I started them with Buffalo Trace, which both enjoyed -- one OTR and the other liberally diluted with water in addition to ice. One was interested in the source of BT, having never heard of it, and the discussion of rarities, at least locally, led us far afield. I eventually served each of them Van Winkle 12 year-old Lot "B" and the recent bottling of the Hirsch 16 year-old. (I found it interesting that each of them liked the BT best, but that's another story.)

One of them, after hearing my best recollection of the source of today's VW products, asked whether there had ever been a 12 year-old Lot "A". The question had never occurred to me.

Does anyone know the answer?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[TNbourbon]

I find a reference to a Van Winkle 18yo "Lot A" here:

Van Winkle Lot A

but no detail is provided.

[LeNell]

I asked Julian recently what the significance of "Lot B" was. His response was, "Nothing really. We used to have lot A but changed to lot B when we switched whiskey supplies back in the early 90's."