Pappy 23 Dec. 2005 Release - Frankfort Bottling

[BourbonJoe]

Bottle No. A1357 - 95.6 Proof

Color : Lovely deep burnt amber. Dense and somewhat syrupy. Coats the glass (in this case, a Brandy Snifter).

Nose : Ripe green apples prevail. Nose is extremely complex. Not alcoholic at all.

Taste : Phenomenal balance. Myriad of fruit flavors in middle palate. Silky smooth. No alcohol burn. Hints of Maraschino cherries.

Finish : Exquisite and very long. Fruit still shows and lingers. Apples prevail.

Comments : I'll put this one up against any Cognac made. Like the 20 y/o this is a super premium bourbon, the likes of which are almost unknown in Bourbondum. Expensive but great. I wish I could afford to buy a case. This is the one to have when you're ready to cash in your chips. It's that good. Buy it if you can get it.

Joe

[ProofPositive]

How much do you think will be available? When I got my VWSR12 yesterday at the largest retailer in my area, the owner told me he had to wait about 1 year to get the three 20s and 15s he got not too long ago. I would assume the 23s will be even more scarce. I am sure Julian can probably tell us...or, maybe I missed it in an earlier thread(?).

[TNbourbon]

Julian posted elsewhere here that about 1,400 bottles were produced last month, with a like number to be bottled later this month. They will have an "A" prefix to the bottle number.

There were about 3,000 bottles in the original run done in Lawrenceburg, about 1,000 more in 2003 from Frankfort, and 60 or so bottles from a single barrel done for restaurants/bars later in 2003.

So, altogether there will be fewer than 7,000 bottles that have ever hit circulation. Call that the definition of scarcity. Additionally, some SB.com friends and I have reduced that total by at least two .

That said, your storekeeper should be able to get it now, soon, or not at all. The December bottling is already in distributors' hands, and the January one soon will be. I doubt they will warehouse any of it -- it'll go straight to store shelves that want it.

[ProofPositive]

After checking with the largest and oldest stores around here, nothing showing up in my area as of yet.....still early in the month though. Are your totals just for the 23yo only? Or, are we talking about total for all VW bottlings for year 2005? I would assume we are only talking about the 23yo since that was the original subject/question. From what you are saying, it is probably useless to attempt to find one thru a distributor. I'll just have to continue to monitor the locals, leave my name & number, hope they call me and try to beat my competitors to it!

[TNbourbon]

The totals are for the 23yo. Don't know what you mean exactly by "...to attempt to find one thru a distributor..." In Tennessee, the retailers MUST buy from the distributors who canNOT, in turn, sell directly to consumers. So, really, your ONLY hope is "to monitor the locals, leave my name & number, hope they call me." For what it's worth (and the distibutors here won't necessarily be the same ones in your area), our distributor contacted the store where I work almost 2 weeks ago to find out how many bottles, if any, we wanted. So, I suspect the ones headed to West Tennessee are already slated for particular shelves even if delivery hasn't taken place. Call around now!

[ProofPositive]

Sorry for the erroneous statement & unintentional confusion caused by it. What I really meant & was trying to say was that a consumer would likely have to specifically request something special like this from a retailer so the retailer might order & get it from a distributor....not the consumer going directly to a distributor - which I think is illegal in Tennessee & maybe in any state.

In other words, one would need to ask a retailer to check with his/her distributor to see if he/she can get a particular item such as the Pappy 23....as opposed to staying silent & just hoping one's local store gets a bottle or two. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is what you are telling me.

Sorry again for my miswording....been a long day & I should have thought about it further before posting.

After all of this, maybe is just time for my big mouth to shut up & open a bottle!!

[TNbourbon]

That's the idea -- get the word out that you're a buyer for a $200 bottle, and some storeowner will get it for you! Heck, he might even give you a bit of a discount if he knows it's sold before he even orders it.

[marcuswrath]

My buddy and I succeded in getting some here in MD by calling the distillary and finding out how many were sent to MD and to what distributers. We then started calling distributers to see if they'd tell us what stores they were sending them to. We got super lucky and found one guy who apparently had ordered several bottles before he had a buyer, so he basically asked us which store we shopped at. We were able to help our store coordinate with the distributer and we were sipping away less than 24 hours later! It was a happy NYE indeed!

[NorCalBoozer]

if you know a certain distributor handles a certain product, it can be a good idea to call the distributor and ask them which stores the product is going into, since they would generally know which store/chain has purchased an item.

That way you can save some time on a hard to find item, instead of trying to track it down store by store or asking the store mgr to get it in. It may be that the distributor has already placed it.

Generally distributors are more than happy to help you get your hands on some of their products.

[TNbourbon]

if you know a certain distributor handles a certain product, it can be a good idea to call the distributor and ask them which stores the product is going into, since they would generally know which store/chain has purchased an item...

Well, you'd think that, and I'm glad it's so there in California. Here in Tennessee, where the distributors are well-connected politically (or they wouldn't be distributors in the first place) and are monopolies -- the brands are divvied up among them, so that each is handled by only one distributor, who owns the rights forever or until voluntarily giving them up -- they really don't have much tolerance for 'the little people', and that includes the retailers.

One area liquor manager has gotten really pissy a couple of times about us (me and the storeowner where I work a couple nights a week) knowing more than he does about whiskey products, and when they're bottled, shipped, due, etc. Fortunately, since we're consistently correct ( thanks, of course, to SB.com), he's finally realized it's easier to just let us have some of what we pester him about.

[NorCalBoozer]

i think that's a bit of a different situation there, but doesn't sound good for bourbonians.

haven't seen any Pappy 23 out west yet.

[WAW]

Found a bottle of Pappy 23 here in Colorado today - Can't wait to enjoy it with a few friends! I also found a bottle of George T. Stagg @ 141 proof - Almost afraid that one will nock me over when I open it!

[ProofPositive]

Found none here yet and no retailers who claim to be getting any.

[gr8erdane]

Got a call from my buddy Rick who scored a bottle at our VanWinkle honey hole this week. Another friend bought two. Evidently there were four bottles received there with one being held for a regular customer. They snatched up the rest. Will the store get another shipment when Julian bottles the second batch this month? I don't know but I'll be watching.

[kbuzbee]

Found a bottle of Pappy 23 here in Colorado today - Can't wait to enjoy it with a few friends! I also found a bottle of George T. Stagg @ 141 proof - Almost afraid that one will nock me over when I open it!

You'll be surprized. It's VERY drinkable. Even straight.

Ken

[ProofPositive]

Still looking for one here in West Tennessee. Got some proprietors on the hunt for me as we speak.....maybe I'll get lucky this week....patience, patience!

[ProofPositive]

Still looking for one here in West Tennessee. Got some proprietors on the hunt for me as we speak.....maybe I'll get lucky this week....patience, patience!

Got a call a few minutes ago.....one my locals has secured one for me!

Will be in hand tomorrow or next day. Sorry,....got to run to the bank as fast as possible!!! (Before the wife checks the balance! )

Wayne

[Virus_Of_Life]

haven't seen any Pappy 23 out west yet.

Nor have I, but I am sure looking! Heading out this weekend to look and ask around.

What should one expect to pay should he be lucky enough to find a bottle of this luscious libation? I have found 20yo for $80, so I am guessing the 23yo would go for excess of 2bills?

[ProofPositive]

What should one expect to pay should he be lucky enough to find a bottle of this luscious libation? I have found 20yo for $80, so I am guessing the 23yo would go for excess of 2bills?

Unless you can find it for less out there, expect to pay 2 bills. I just did for mine. As a SB.com friend of mine told me today: "is it worth $200?....I don't know but I do know that is what you will pay if you want it". (Thanks Tim - you were a big help - seriously!) So, I did and have no regrets. I am mentally writing it off as a one-time purchase.

Yea, right! If Julian released another batch of it - be it next month, in six months or next year, I would probably do it again if I had the dough. As crazy as it sounds, I asked the clerk at the store today where I bought mine to just see if he can get another one. If he can and they can hold it for a couple of weeks, I may really get crazy and buy another one! There are worse ways to spend one's money!!!

All kidding aside, paying for it was not that bad....the hard part was just finding it.

Wayne

[Virus_Of_Life]

All kidding aside, paying for it was not that bad....the hard part was just finding it.

Yeah I kind of figured all along that would be the tough part, I am hoping that I will be lucky in that Beverages and More seems to carry all other VW products, I even located some bottles of Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13yo and some Pappy 20yo, so here's to hoping they soon get some 23yo. I will be talking to a manager this weekend in hopes of gaining some insight, maybe if I tell him he's already got 2 bottles sold, 3 if my friend in Oregon wants one as I suspect he does, that'll help to get some in store?...

Anyway, yeah, the money isn’t a big deal, there’s a little in savings, not meant for this, but then again THIS doesn’t exactly come along too often does it? Besides I am about to be an uncle for the first time, so what better way for me and my brother to toast than by having some Pappy VW 23yo?!?!?! And some VWFRR 13yo and some VWSR 12 yo and some GTS, oops that doesn’t exactly fit there; well you get the idea...

[Virus_Of_Life]

Bottle No. A1357 - 95.6 Proof

Buy it if you can get it.

Joe

I have come across a bottle, and was wanting to verify what bottling it was from, the bottle number is #A424. I am assuming from this previous post that it is in fact the December 2005 release. Does anyone know how many were bottled? I just spent about 3 bills on other stuff and this one is 250+ so I would have just bought w/o thinking but now I am a little short on funds. I know this is a stupid question, but is this REALLY something that you do not pass up on?

OK, I have just re-read Tim's post "Julian posted elsewhere here that about 1,400 bottles were produced last month, with a like number to be bottled later this month. They will have an "A" prefix to the bottle number." So the January bottling will have the "A"? In stores this quickly? That seems very quick! And would mean all the December bottles are long gone? Just want to clarify, sorry if I am rehashing anything that was already cleared up... I am thinking that I am mis-interpreting and it is actually the December bottles that have the "A"

Oh the decisions in life! If I do buy this it probably will go unopened until a special occasion comes around...

[ProofPositive]

Bottle No. A1357 - 95.6 Proof

Buy it if you can get it.

Joe

I have come across a bottle, and was wanting to verify what bottling it was from, the bottle number is #A424.

OK, I have just re-read Tim's post "Julian posted elsewhere here that about 1,400 bottles were produced last month, with a like number to be bottled later this month. They will have an "A" prefix to the bottle number." So the January bottling will have the "A"? In stores this quickly? That seems very quick! And would mean all the December bottles are long gone? Just want to clarify, sorry if I am rehashing anything that was already cleared up... I am thinking that I am mis-interpreting and it is actually the December bottles that have the "A"

Oh the decisions in life! If I do buy this it probably will go unopened until a special occasion comes around...

Joe, Tim, and several others - and Julian for sure - will be able to answer your question. The way I interpreted it was that ALL of the DEC 05 & JAN 06 bottlings (approx. 1400 + 1400) would have the "A" prefix. That would make sense to me since Joe has "A1357" back in December ahead of the January release. Also, I have here in front of me "A1444" and "A1459" which I know for a fact are the current month offering. So, IMHO, "A424" is from December. FWIW, it would make no sense to me to start the second run in January all over again at zero with the "A" prefix. If that were the case, then the ones I have would not make any sense.....hope all this makes sense!

Also, IMHO - beg, borrow or steal the $$ to go back and get A424 for yourself before someone else beats you to it. From the way it sounds, CA does not get much allotment of anything coming out of BT. You might not see another one for a long, long time.

Take it from me, I had $250 in my pocket yesterday and went out spending $235 of it on 6 other bottles of bourbon after talking myself out of the Pappy 23 that I knew was in stock, in town, and on hold for me. When I saw it in person, I just could not help it....I wrote a check and will have money transferred out of my 401(K) on Tuesday since tomorrow is a bank holiday. Now if that is not a sickeness or obsession, I don't know what is!!!

Wayne

[Virus_Of_Life]

Thanks for your quick insight Wayne, I called and it is on hold, but guess what? They actually have THREE (3) bottles!!! So I took the lowest number, A351, they have. Everything you say makes sense that both Dec'05 and Jan'06 will have the "A" prefix. Sorry for my brain hiccup on that!

And it just turns out that I got a very knowledgeable guy on the phone who told me he had two bottles of VWFRR 13yo he found hidden in the back room, he was taking one but said he’d put the other on hold for me also (he was going to take both!). Unfortunately no VWFR 15yo though.

These two I just can’t pass up and are going on the charge card, yeah I know, that’s bad to be paying interest on a Bourbon purchase, but I would regret much more than the interest if I never came across another 23yo or Rye!

So if anyone in the LA/OC area or any where else needs a Pappy 23yo, there are two more bottles. But if they are still around in a month or two when I recover from all the spending I have done this past week I’ll be taking another one! Or I guess I should try the 20yo before those are all gone too… I know, I know I should have had 20yo before 23yo but 20 I have been able to find! 23 I had not… And like I said I am not ‘planning’ to open it for a while, ‘planning’ that is, we all know how that goes!

[TNbourbon]

...The way I interpreted it was that ALL of the DEC 05 & JAN 06 bottlings (approx. 1400 + 1400) would have the "A" prefix...

Correct. For all intents and purposes, this in a single bottling/production. I think they are split up into two production runs simply as a function of scheduling bottling line time at a very-busy Buffalo Trace right now.

[Virus_Of_Life]

Thank you Tim for verifying what I was misinterpreting, I think it was the excitement of the find as well as the disappointment of seeing the Colts losing that just had my neurons firing a little off. I know this is a silly question, but have you opened any Pappy 23? I have not found your notes here so I was wondering if you have yet to taste it?