Pappy Van Winkle's 23 Year Old Family Reserve

For my 150th review on connosr I picked something truly special: Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23 years old. Through luck and the generosity of a good friend I was able to obtain a bottle in early 2014 and it would have lasted longer had I not been generous myself in giving some of it to my fellow whisky maniacs who were begging me for a sample. Indeed, we do not get to see much of Pappy in Europe, which makes their reaction understandable.

Nowadays, the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve label is produced at Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, KY, but of course that used to be different in the old days. The Van Winkle family’s involvement in the bourbon industry began in 1893 when Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle, Sr. started as a traveling salesman for W.L. Weller and Sons. He and a friend, Alex Farnsley, eventually purchased the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery that produced bourbon for Weller. The two companies were merged to become the Stitzel-Weller distillery that opened in May 1935. Pappy who at the time was 61 had a heavy influence on the operations at the distillery until his death at the age of 91 in 1965. His son, Julian, Jr. took over operations until the distillery was sold in 1972. After selling the distillery, Julian, Jr. resurrected a pre-prohibition label, the only one to which the Van Winkles kept the rights, called Old Rip Van Winkle. He initially used stocks from the old distillery to supply his brand. In 1981, Julian Jr.’s son, Julian, III took over the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery Company, and his son, Preston, joined the company in 2001. Since 2002, the Van Winkle brands have been distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at the Buffalo Trace Distillery as a joint venture with the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery Company. These tasting notes relate to bottle #E-2832.

The nose is lush and fruity with an initial burst of alcohol. Based on what I had heard about this bourbon I braced myself for a wood spice attack, but though the oak was there it was far from overpowering, just sweetly spicy. Instead, vanilla, marzipan and plenty of orange peel were at the forefront, followed by honey, a delightful maltiness and a touch of ginger as well as nutmeg. Wonderful! Adding water decreased the intensity of all the flavours.

The palate is full-bodied and rich, yet very smooth and rather dry. Honey and ginger are back, together with vanilla fudge, cinnamon and hints of dark chocolate. With water the dryness disappears but is replaced with wood spice.

The finish is long and warming. Wood spice mingles with sweet vanilla flavours. Hints of oranges and honey round this off.

Did this live up to my admittedly high expectations? The nose and finish certainly did. I found the nose to be lush, rich and sweetly spicy – in short: sheer pleasure. The palate, on the other hand, was a bit weak – despite the high ABV – and rather dry. In my opinion this should be enjoyed neat as water does not add to the experience. Thus, and to sum it up, I did enjoy this bottle tremendously but I might not do my utmost to try and secure a second one.

First of all, Van Winkle is not a distiller from what I understand. Van Winkle obtains its stock from distilleries but does not make its own any longer. Correct me if I'm wrong. I could be wrong, since I heard this fact from a bartender who might be full of hot air.

For the past couple of years, Van Winkle's has selected Buffalo Trace barrels. It seems this tradition may continue. My good friend, who shall remain nameless but who stars in a very popular television program these days gave me a book on Buffalo Trace called The Great Crossing: A Historical Journey to Buffalo Trace Distillery. It's quite interesting.

Let's get started on the comparison. I should probably state up front that I am pretty much a single malt scotch man. I rarely drink very much bourbon, but the Pappy's line is among my favorite whiskey (and whisky) of all time. Its up near the top, even though there are some very old and very nice single malts that occupy very top spots in my brain's ability to rank magickal ichors.

I've been sipping at the Pap's glass nipple since back when it was readily available on the shelves of my favorite liquor store in town and I rue the day it became so popular and hence so hard to lay hands upon.

Then again, my past glowing reviews of Pappy's stuff has not helped to keep it a well kept secret among whiskey lovers who cannot help reaching for the best that they can get/afford instead of so-so bottles.

THIS IS A SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISION, THREE LONG STEMMED WHISKY GLASSES LINED UP NEXT TO EACH OTHER ON THE TABLE:

HALF EMPTY BOTTLES ON ALL OF THEM:

RIGHT OFF THE BAT:

15 YEAR I liked the 15 year better last year. It was more balanced. However, that's not to say I didn't like the fifteen this year. Oh hell yes I did. But not as much as last year. In some ways the nose was more like last year's 20. The first thing I noticed on the nose was the pungent grip of model airplane glue from my childhood. It's not an unpleasant smell to me and it makes me nostalgic for simpler times when I built plane after plane. Little to no wood on the nose. In the mouth nougat, vanilla. Lemon thyme. Treacle. Burnt caramel. The finish was medium length but very nice.

20 YEAR Very sweet. Not as defined of a burnt treacle note as the 15. A little flat compared to last years but perhaps better balanced. There is vanilla, some oak. The nose is surprisingly vacant. Finish is medium.

23 YEAR Nose: Model airplane nose (like the 15). Not as much caramel as the 15. Nice oak, but not overpowering. Palate: exquisite. Cherry note. Nougat finish. Homemade marshmellow. Vanilla. Marshmellowy goodness, some caramel. The finish is very long indeed. Wow. I'm speechless. . . .

SITTING IN GLASS FOR TEN MINUTES:

20 Cherry note dominant now. Opened up, not so flat. The most "conventional" bourbon finish. Not so dry as last year. Seems like a lower ABV? I hope the bar didn't water it down or I will need to call some wise guys to help me ge to the bottom of this quandary (just joking, it's a jooooooke!) Still, I think I will taste the 20 elsewhere just out of curiosity. If I find a glaring difference from this review, then I will state it in a new review on the 20.

15 The marshmellow note is more palpable now, and distracts a little from the rest. Not as balanced as last year's offering.

23 Cherry flinty note fades, wood seems more piney like pine, oak subsumes other flavors on finish but pleasantly, drier finish than others. I should add water but I just can't bring myself to do it. Yes, if I were tasting professionally tonight I would, but I'm not so I won't. Sorry, just can't water this stuff down to experiment with it. It's too precious to do that.

SITTING IN GLASS FOR THIRTY MINUTES: 23 pulls ahead and is my favorite. Right out of the bottle, I like the 15 the most. The 20 stays more constant. It's very even keeled this year. Still, it's a bore when compared side by side to the 23.

FINAL OBSERVATIONS: The 23 is quite good this year. If you passed on it, you are missing out. Sorry to break the news. Yes, it's mind blowing. The 20 seemed flat compared to last year but it is easier to drink, if that makes sense. I didn't add water to these bourbons. I just couldn't do it after spending so much on the glasses (I won't say how much but OWCH! if this wasn't a passionate hobby I wouldn't have spent the money).

I am just amazed at how damned frickin good these bourbons taste and how wonderfully they behave with some air. I was just itching to find weaknesses, especially after spending so much money to taste them this year, but I have to admit that I just adore them. The only drawback: the 15 was better last year. This said, the 23 is MUCH better this year.

The colors of the whiskies are remarkable, absolutely beautiful. They get darker as they got older, of course. The 23 is a work of art.

I wish I had been able to find a bottle of the 23 this year.

Last year, I obtained a bottle of the 20. In retrospect, wish I'd snagged the 15 instead last year.

2013 was the year that the 15 really shined, IMO. This year, the 23 reigns supreme.

At the end of my little tasting experiment at Vintage Cocktail in SE Portland, I poured the 20 into a Glen Cairn to see if it changed the nose. It did indeed, surprisingly for the better . . . or perhaps this was due to the fact that some oxygen had worked its magic by then on the whiskey.

MY RATING BELOW IS FOR THE 23, NOT THE 20 OR THE 15. I just love 96, partly because I'm a stickler and I have rarely ever used it in a whisk[e]y rating. It's a very interesting number, indeed. Poetically reserved and yet lavish at the same time. Okay, I'll shut up now. Seriously, there's nothing like a line up like this to make a guy wax poetic. I feel fortunate to have been able to taste all three Pappys next to each other.

-finis-

Many thanks to @numen for the reviewed sample, which is from bottle C 7390.

Nose: strong intensity, sweet wheat/oak combined flavours. Lots of vanilla and perfume of roses. A very lovely nose. Water softens the nose a little, but offers little change otherwise

Taste: lots of old oak with the wheat here. Slightly tired wood, but still enjoyable. Quite sweet with strong vanilla from all of that wood aging. Significant alcohol greeting. Water muffles the flavours and doesn't add anything

Finish: long, sweet, goes a little bitter toward the close. Leaves a good bit to be desired. As with the delivery, water muffles the flavours and adds nothing except to soften the alcohol greeting

Balance: this is enjoyable, but stops short of greatness because of the very old slightly bitter wood. The alcohol hit is also pretty strong relative to the %ABV. I have had samples of Pappy Van Winkle 23 yo from other bottles which have been better than this and at least one that was worse than this. So, for me, this is a bourbon that can range anywhere from 75 to 95 in score. Today's sample would be a good median to my cumulative tastings of Pappy Van Winkle 23. I enjoyed this nose immensely and am always happy to drink Pappy Van Winkle 23, but it is extremely expensive at $ 225 in the USA, and the younger Van Winkle bourbons have better balance

Color: Gold, tinge of copper Nose: apple pie, cinnamon, some combination of varnish and paint thinner, vanilla extract, some oak and wood dust.

Palate: medium-thick. honey, light caramel, oak. there are trace amounts of spice (nutmeg, allspice, and anise), but it's fairly subdued after the honey. Oak is somewhat drying, and there's a hint of slightly old cream-cheese.

Finish: This is usually the weaker point of the PVW line to me - usually an issue of length - and it's the weak point of the 23. The finish is bitter-dry, and a lingering sense of the varnish. I'm not sure what happened to the bourbony goodness of the 20, which, though lighter, has the classic wheater profile. The three years more in barrel did something to the liquid, and I don't like it. I have tasted this multiple times and have come away with a similar impression each time, so it's not just a bad taste here or there. I'm probably punishing it a little for the finish; the nose and palate are good, but not spectacular, but the finish really kills this for me. Very disappointing.