
Let this sink in for a moment theres a new Van Winkle bourbon about to hit store shelves. It is, of course, a super rare enough of a bourbon to get a hold of under its normal, limited bottle releases each year. The new Old Rip ... read more
Let this sink in for a moment theres a new Van Winkle bourbon about to hit store shelves. It is, of course, a super rare enough of a bourbon to get a hold of under its normal, limited bottle releases each year. The new Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old Bourbon steps this up even more, and even more yet again, with only 710 bottles being made available.Heres the story on the bourbon and the special packaging it will drop in, directly from Buffalo Trace:
The barrels were distilled in the spring and fall of 1989 and stored on the lower levels of a metal clad warehouse built in 1935 at the Van Winkle family distillery in Shively, Ky.
In 2002 the barrels were moved to Buffalo Trace Distillery, where they continued to age for another 12 years on the lower floors in Buffalo Traces brick warehouses. The lower floor placement helped preserve the sweet, mellow notes of the world-famous wheated bourbon recipe. In 2014 the Buffalo Trace team moved the barrels into stainless steel tanks to halt the aging process and preserve the rich flavor profile fans have come to expect from the Van Winkle line.
These extra special bottles deserve an extra special vessel, so each bottle is a handmade glass decanter from Glencarin Crystal Studio. The bottle information is engraved on each decanter, individually numbered, and hand finished with a silver stopper. A glass top for the decanter is also included.
Each decanter is packaged in a handmade wooden box crafted in North Carolina by James Broyhill II of Heritage Handcrafted. The lid is constructed using the oak staves from the 11 barrels that held this bourbon. The outside of the box bears a metal plaque with the Old Rip Van Winkle logo and states asleep 25 years in the wood. Inside each box, along with the decanter and glass top, is a bourbon certificate of authenticity, numbered and signed by Julian Van Winkle, grandson of original founder Julian P. Pappy Van Winkle, Sr.
We are excited to be able to offer something so unique and rare for our most devoted fans, said Julian Van Winkle, president, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, in a prepared statement. This is a once in a lifetime offering and the beautiful decanter and wooden box just take it to the next level and make it something in which Im very proud to be associated.
The Stitzel Distillery supplied much of the whiskey sold by the Weller wholesale firm. The consolidation coincided with prohibition during which time the Stitzel-Weller firm was licensed by the government to produce whiskey for medicinal purposes. One of their labels that was introduced on the market just before prohibition was Old Rip Van Winkle.[1] After prohibition, the brand was not reintroduced until after 1972 when the Stitzel-Weller distillery and its current brand names (including W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still) were sold to other companies.[1] The only brand name to which the Van Winkle family kept the rights was the pre-prohibition brand Old Rip Van Winkle.[1]
The Stitzel-Weller plant was opened on the day of the Kentucky Derby in 1935, just outside Louisville in Shively, Kentucky. At the time of his death in 1965 at the age of 89, Pappy Van Winkle was the oldest active distiller in the nation. A photo of him graces the bottle's label.[3][8][9]
Sometime after the Stitzel-Weller distillery was sold in 1972, Julian Van Winkle, Jr. resurrected the pre-prohibition Old Rip Van Winkle brand and initially used old whiskey stocks from the distillery for its bottlings.[1] Julian Jr. died in 1981 and Julian Van Winkle, III (Pappy's grandson)[10] took over the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery company.
After the initial sale in 1972, the Stitzel-Weller distillery was eventually closed completely in 1991] In 1984, Buffalo Trace distillery commercially marketed the first modern (post-1950s) brand of single-barrel bourbon, Blanton's.
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.
In 2013, Julian Preston Van Winkle III, said the 2013 bottlings of the 23-year brand expression "may be the last of its kind", since at that point there was very little left of the aging stock from the Stitzel-Weller distillery (although he said the brand would not be discontinued)] The makers say that they do not want to boost production, as there is considerable long term risk, and they do not want to be left holding copious quantities of unsaleable bourbon should tastes, fashions or circumstances change.
Production is being increased somewhat, with a projected increase of the annual production from the current 6–8 thousand bottles to 15 thousand by 2025, but the production will remain well below mass-market levels

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