A Real Pappy Update and Some Wild Speculation

As you may have figured out the Estonian inventory is now safely rerouted to sunny California!  We've officially received our allocation of Van Winkle, by that I mean I know how much we will be getting, NOT that the inventory is in stock - SO DON'T CALL THE STORE ASKING FOR VW.  Whisk(e)y Club members you should know the drill by now. It will go the same as last time so when you get notice be sure to clear your schedule.  Of course, the spring allocation will be tighter than ever before, although it looks like we're getting a little more of the 12 year, which probably won't excite you hardcore S-W fans. Speaking of which, the bourbon gossip pages (yes, there is a whisky geek equivalent to TMZ) are rumors about the contents of the VW 20 & 23. While it might all be hearsay, the internet is a buzz with speculation about the provenance of these highly regarded bottlings. I would encourage anyone speculating about the provenance of current Pappy bottlings to take a deep breath and take a look at Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery's explicit statement that "all of the Van Winkle’s whiskey production now takes place at Buffalo Trace," and that "Julian, III has continued with the Van Winkle tradition of producing the highest quality wheated bourbon available." What more do you need to know? I think we need to all get comfortable with the idea that if something doesn't explicitly say where it is distilled we cannot assume anything about it.  If Buffalo Trace was contracted to make wheated bourbon for S-W as early as '81, can we really say which whiskey is which?  Those stocks would have been the property of Diageo and not Buffalo Trace.  If that's the case, would these have been considered S-W at that time?  Perhaps they've only bottled Pappy from S-W stocks distilled at Buffalo Trace?  Who really knows at this point? I think the real issue should be how it tastes and if you want to be sure that what you're drinking whiskey that comes from the Stitzel-Weller Distillery than you should buy this:

Very Old Fitzgerald 8 Year Old Straight Bourbon Bottled in Bond 750ml $999.99

-David Othenin-Girard