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It’s nearly fall, and the slow trickle of annual whiskey releases has been picking up speed. First there was Birthday Bourbon, then came the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. And while there are more to come, the news that so many whiskey fans have been waiting for finally dropped—the details of the 2025 Pappy Van Winkle collection were announced. And in addition to that, a very rare bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old is up for auction.
Pappy Van Winkle is owned by the Van Winkle family and their Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery brand, but the whiskey has been produced and distributed in partnership with Buffalo Trace since 2002. Prior to that, Pappy was produced at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which closed in 1992, so it’s pretty rare that you actually get to drink Pappy that was actually distilled there. According to a rep for the brand, Old Rip Van Winkle 25 was indeed produced at Stitzel-Weller in 1989 and spent more than 10 years maturing there before being transferred to Buffalo Trace in 2002.
The whiskey, which tops the oldest Pappy expression by two years, was dumped from barrels in 2014 and put into a stainless-steel vat before being released in 2017 in a run of just 710 individually numbered decanters designed by Glencairn Crystal Studio. Bottle #706, which is going up for auction via Sazerac’s Legacy de Forge, was supposedly discovered in the Buffalo Trace archives hidden behind some other bottles (always take these stories with a grain of salt, but this is supposedly how it happened). You can bid on this bottle, and other Buffalo Trace whiskeys, by clicking here until September 24, and the winner will get a private tasting with Julian Van Winkle himself.
As for the 2025 Pappy Van Winkle collection, here are the details and official tasting notes, including the laughable suggested retail prices for each bottle, which are always fun (and infuriating) to see.
- Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon 10 Year Old ($149.99) has notes of “wheat, cherry, bold oak, and a hint of spice, leading to a long, smoky finish layered with oak, dark vanilla, and lingering warmth.”
- Van Winkle Special Reserve Bourbon 12 Year Old ($169.99) is said to be bolder and woodier than usual, with notes of honey, tobacco, and dark fruit that evolve into stone fruit and cocoa on the palate.
- Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year Old ($229.99) has a fruit-forward flavor profile, and “layers of cocoa, white pepper, and vanilla [with] a bold infusion of cherry and ripe stone fruits” as you sip.
- Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 15 Year Old ($239.99), which some consider to be the standout age statement, has notes of leather, oak, dark fruit, brown sugar, and cherry on the palate.
- Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 20 Year Old ($359.99) is getting near the upper limits of bourbon maturation, with notes of citrus, vanilla, juicy stone fruit, and hints of sherry.
- Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 23 Year Old ($499.99), considered to be overly oaky by some, is said to have notes of vanilla, honey, maple, cherry, and a warming heat as you sip.
The 2025 collection will be available at retailers starting this month, and you can find bottles from previous years still available at websites like ReserveBar now, albeit for extremely inflated prices.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker