quote:
Those numbers really are outrageous.
I spent a couple of years (ending in 2012) assembling my Van Winkle stock. While I enjoy Spec's and Total Wine, they almost completely killed my ability to find this stuff when they moved in and shut down a lot of the little guys. I cultivated relationships with managers all over the metroplex who would call when they found a bottle that wasn't already spoken for.
I have people interested in taking it off my hands from time to time, but I always have the same thought/answer. I don't expect that I will ever see - much less be able to buy - a bottle of it in a retail setting. Which makes me reluctant to part with it.
And to be honest, the rarest were the ones I was least impressed with. The 23 year old was underwhelming - perhaps because I had hyped it up in my mind. The 15 was the best, followed very closely by the Van Winkle Family Reserve (12 yr) - and I still feel like the Old Rip in 107 proof was the best value to price ratio of any whiskey ever made.
Agree 100% about 15 vs. 23. The 23 has never impressed me.
