Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 23 Years Old 2008 100% Stitzel-Weller

Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23 Years Old — 2008 Vintage — 100% Stitzel-Weller is distilled at the original Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville before its 1992 closure — wheated bourbon from the era when Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle’s family still operated the distillery they founded in 1935. This is pre-closure Stitzel-Weller spirit at 23 years, the rarest and most historically significant configuration of the Van Winkle lineup.

The 2008 release represents Stitzel-Weller distillate laid down in the late 1970s to mid-1980s — a production period predating both the distillery’s 1992 closure and the subsequent resurgence of interest in Van Winkle bourbon that began in the late 1990s. Subsequent Van Winkle releases after the Buffalo Trace transition draw on different distillate; 100% Stitzel-Weller 23 Year is the original lineage at its endpoint. The wheated mashbill — wheat substituting for rye as the secondary grain — produces the characteristic softness and dried fruit complexity that distinguishes Van Winkle from high-rye bourbons.

Specs

Distillery: Stitzel-Weller, Louisville, Kentucky (closed 1992) — Age: 23 Years — Vintage: 2008 release — Mashbill: Wheated bourbon — Size: 750ml

Browse all Pappy Van Winkle and rare and allocated spirits at Wooden Cork.