https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/booze/virginia-pappy-van-winkle-lottery?utm_source=Jeeng

Virginia Is Offering Up Thousands of Pappy Van Winkle Bottles in a Lottery

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If you're a Virginia resident, you might have a better shot this year. The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC) recently announced a chance to win Family Reserve 23 Year, 20 Year and 15 Year, Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year and Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year bourbons, along with Old Rip Van Winkle 13 Year Rye (a new offering for ABC).


Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery

Different bottles will be available for the online lottery during two five-day stretches, March 18-22 and April 7-11. The good news? Over 2,500 bottles are available! The bad news? Winning simply wins you can buy a bottle (though you'll get 'em at retail prices ranging from $70-$300). And again, this is for Virginia residents. If you're interested and you reside in the state, you can register.
This isn't the first time a state has hosted a lottery for prized bottles, as Pennsylvania and Ohio have hosted similar events in the past, although it should be noted that in Pennsylvania you only had a 2 % of scoring a bottle.

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Go to KSP Henderson if you want to check out a new bourbon bar in Dallas. It's the old Knox Street Pub and just re-opened across the highway next to Barcadia.

Incredible selection and pretty good prices on most of the premium bourbon. IIRC, here are some prices for 1.5 oz pours:

$40 BTAC (all 5 in stock)
$16 for the Weller line including Single Barrel ($20 for CYPB)
$22-25 for EHT Seasoned Wood & Four Grain

TBH, most of the Pappy prices weren't great. They also have Boss Hogs 2-7, Michter's 25, several OFBB, a few Parker's and many more.

http://www.ksphenderson.com/

Those are really reasonable prices. I need to check that place out.

Trading in my ER SiB Select for a ECBP C920.

Yay or Nay?

Yay for me

Edit: from a tasting perspective, yay. I like higher proof stuff and ECBP is one of my favorites. If you are wanting trade bait, I anticipate the ER would be considered the harder to find bottle

Yay on quality

Yay on MSRP

Push on secondary value

Definitely a good trade on your end, but if everyone's happy that's a good fair trade.

Shukran habibi

The deal will soon be made

Ask him if he has more for the same trade. ER for ECBP each and every time

CTGilley said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Trading in my ER SiB Select for a ECBP C920.

Yay or Nay?

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That is an easy Yay.

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That is an amazingly lopsided trade.

Out of these 2, I'm taking the ECBP 100 times out of 100.

Not really. ER store picks are about the same value as ECBP. The picks I have are all delicious. If it was a regular ER, it would be lopsided.

I picked up a bottle of Bonfire bourbon. Here's what the head distiller told me on Facebook messenger after I reached out to him a week ago..

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Hi mazag08, thanks for your interest. Bonfire Bourbon Whiskey is distilled by the Brazos Valley Vodka Company in College Station, Texas.

We normally do tasting every Friday at liquor stores across the region, you can follow our Facebook Page for details on upcoming events.

Our Bourbon is made out of locally sourced wheat, corn, barley, and rye and is barrel aged 4 years. It is a completely local and completely Aggie product. We can't wait to hear what you think of it. Cheers and Gig 'em!

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It was $24.99 at Specs.

My thoughts:

I got a very light nose from it. You could tell it was bourbon, but it was very light. Even got a slight fresh cut hay note.

On the palette, it was a classic bourbon flavor. A little vanilla, caramel, and a dash of oak. It felt a little hollow but that seems likely due to the short time in barrels, and it seems pretty typical of Texas bourbon due to our climate.

The finish was almost no burn which shocked me. As it lingered, there was a tad bit, but no oakey tartness, nor did it sour in my throat like some other Texas whiskey products I won't name.

Overall, this is a fantastic start and good first attempt. The flavor is there. No need to tinker. It just needs a boost. Might need more time in the barrels. Maybe a little less filtering and higher ABV. I was very surprised how easy going and approachable it was. I'll use it for both sipping and mixed drinks.

For those who might want to try it, I'll reiterate that the flavor is good but the feel is hollow compared to the mass produced offferings in the same price range. It's not going to blow you away. But I really do think it's a good baseline for a distillery to build on. And it might be the best to pair with coke as the hollow feel will give it a silky smoothness while still offering some classic whiskey coke flavor.

AGdent07 said:

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Hey guys, Im still around and haven't abandoned our barrel pick project. Had a baby a while back and have been consumed with work and the little one. LPHA had reached out to me a while back and seems to have a solid connection on doing a barrel pick. Im hoping that we will be able to get something selected through his connection in the future. Last week Ducks reached out to me and said that he knows someone with a barrel. Here is the info that he provided me: 17 year old barrel, could be Kentucky SBW juice but might be dickel, should yield 150-180 bottles. Now I know some of you aren't the biggest dickel fans and I understand that. I would dare say few understand the difficulty that comes with being able to obtain a highly desirable barrel. If you think finding a bottle of allocated bourbon is hard then try finding 150 of them, haha. I will try to put up a poll to gauge peoples interest in the barrel that Ducks has offered up to our group. I for one would be open to getting an inaugural barrel pick.

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Any update?

Any EC picks in Houston lately?

Pappy 15 year was on the menu last night.

I tried it right after the server brought it to the table and then let it sit for about another 5-10 minutes before trying it again. Also, I didn't have anything else other than that dram in a glass neat. It was good, not great. Just didn't blow me away. Nose was good with lots of caramel and vanilla, but that was all. Mouthfeel was okay with a little bit of oily going on, but not much. Taste was on par with the nose with a little spice added to it. Virtually no alcohol burn at all. All in all, it was good, just nothing to write home about. If I didn't know that it was a 15 year Pappy, I would have thought it was Weller variant, Eagle Rare, or maybe even a Michter's American Whisky dialed up a little. Like a said, a good bourbon, but definitely not at the level I was expecting. I've had the ORVW 10 year 1 time a couple months ago and thought it was 10 times better than the Pappy 15 year. In fact, there are several bottles that I currently own (that are not hard to find) that I would rather drink than the sample of Pappy 15 I had last night.

Keep in mind that this is only a 1 ounce pour at a restaurant 1 time. Might be different next time. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion and certainly not the end all be all of reviews for Pappy 15.

AGBrewer512 said:

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Pappy 15 year was on the menu last night.

I tried it right after the server brought it to the table and then let it sit for about another 5-10 minutes before trying it again. Also, I didn't have anything else other than that dram in a glass neat. It was good, not great. Just didn't blow me away. Nose was good with lots of caramel and vanilla, but that was all. Mouthfeel was okay with a little bit of oily going on, but not much. Taste was on par with the nose with a little spice added to it. Virtually no alcohol burn at all. All in all, it was good, just nothing to write home about. If I didn't know that it was a 15 year Pappy, I would have thought it was Weller variant, Eagle Rare, or maybe even a Michter's American Whisky dialed up a little. Like a said, a good bourbon, but definitely not at the level I was expecting. I've had the ORVW 10 year 1 time a couple months ago and thought it was 10 times better than the Pappy 15 year. In fact, there are several bottles that I currently own (that are not hard to find) that I would rather drink than the sample of Pappy 15 I had last night.

Keep in mind that this is only a 1 ounce pour at a restaurant 1 time. Might be different next time. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion and certainly not the end all be all of reviews for Pappy 15.

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my understanding is that there is/was lots of variation from year to year so an "average" pour from the 2020 could mean one of those world changing pours next year

MarathonAg12 said:

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Bachelor Party in Austin. We had OF Birthday Bourbon (18) at The Grackle before hand. The bartender/bourbon picker there was a complete dick. Great selection but terrible service. 'Twas a good weekend though.

"

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Rankings?

Icecream_Ag said:

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AGBrewer512 said:

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Pappy 15 year was on the menu last night.

I tried it right after the server brought it to the table and then let it sit for about another 5-10 minutes before trying it again. Also, I didn't have anything else other than that dram in a glass neat. It was good, not great. Just didn't blow me away. Nose was good with lots of caramel and vanilla, but that was all. Mouthfeel was okay with a little bit of oily going on, but not much. Taste was on par with the nose with a little spice added to it. Virtually no alcohol burn at all. All in all, it was good, just nothing to write home about. If I didn't know that it was a 15 year Pappy, I would have thought it was Weller variant, Eagle Rare, or maybe even a Michter's American Whisky dialed up a little. Like a said, a good bourbon, but definitely not at the level I was expecting. I've had the ORVW 10 year 1 time a couple months ago and thought it was 10 times better than the Pappy 15 year. In fact, there are several bottles that I currently own (that are not hard to find) that I would rather drink than the sample of Pappy 15 I had last night.

Keep in mind that this is only a 1 ounce pour at a restaurant 1 time. Might be different next time. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion and certainly not the end all be all of reviews for Pappy 15.

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my understanding is that there is/was lots of variation from year to year so an "average" pour from the 2020 could mean one of those world changing pours next year

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Hmm...that would explain why the shot I had was so mediocre. I'm somewhat surprised that they don't have better quality control. Of course, when you batch stuff, I would think that you will run into a bit of flavor drift. Esspecially the smaller the number of barrels.

I remember a whiskey judge one year saying that they only get pappy every few years to judge because of the variations, but that was when you could still get btac offerings at msrp, so things may have changed since then

Cowboy Curtis said:

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Perhaps the bar is refilling the bottle with WSR

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Maybe, but this is a well known restaurant. Wouldn't expect them to do that...but who really knows.

MarathonAg12 said:

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AGBrewer512 said:

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MarathonAg12 said:

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Bachelor Party in Austin. We had OF Birthday Bourbon (18) at The Grackle before hand. The bartender/bourbon picker there was a complete dick. Great selection but terrible service. 'Twas a good weekend though.

"

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Rankings?

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The OF Birthday Bourbon (2018) was in a league of its own. The nose was oak and dark fruit. It wasn't until the palate did dreams come true. My friend and I agreed "butter cream frosting" sat in our mouth with a easy finish of vanilla caramel.

We had the following tastings of Buffalo Trace at home: Weller SR, Weller 107, Weller 12 and GTS

The Weller SR was for us to wet our whistle on Weller and start off with a delicious base that no one can deny is great wheated bourbon. It was my first time ever having GTS and that was amazing Bourbon. It's just a dark chocolate and vanilla caramel bomb that blows you away. 130 proof and just sits in your mouth forever! Obviously, that took the cake. Weller 107 all day over Weller 12. I thought the 107 was a smooth, delicious sip of cinnamon cherries and vanilla. The 12 was a little aggressive for me, with strong punch of raw oak and spice on the way out. The palate was creamy caramel, but that quickly faded away. All in all, excellent bourbons.

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I'm right there with you on the rankings of the Weller line! And GTS really is an awesome bourbon...if you can find it close to MSRP.

AGBrewer512 said:

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Pappy 15 year was on the menu last night.

I tried it right after the server brought it to the table and then let it sit for about another 5-10 minutes before trying it again. Also, I didn't have anything else other than that dram in a glass neat. It was good, not great. Just didn't blow me away. Nose was good with lots of caramel and vanilla, but that was all. Mouthfeel was okay with a little bit of oily going on, but not much. Taste was on par with the nose with a little spice added to it. Virtually no alcohol burn at all. All in all, it was good, just nothing to write home about. If I didn't know that it was a 15 year Pappy, I would have thought it was Weller variant, Eagle Rare, or maybe even a Michter's American Whisky dialed up a little. Like a said, a good bourbon, but definitely not at the level I was expecting. I've had the ORVW 10 year 1 time a couple months ago and thought it was 10 times better than the Pappy 15 year. In fact, there are several bottles that I currently own (that are not hard to find) that I would rather drink than the sample of Pappy 15 I had last night.

Keep in mind that this is only a 1 ounce pour at a restaurant 1 time. Might be different next time. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion and certainly not the end all be all of reviews for Pappy 15.

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You summed up my opinion on the entire PVW lineup right here. I honestly think the scarcity is the only thing driving the hype anymore. If more collectors actually opened their bottles and tried them, they'd probably stop hoarding. They're good bourbons, but there is nothing magical or life changing about any of them.

Enjoyed an Early Times BOB tonight. A slightly dusty tasting version of Old Forrester 100 in my opinion. Heavy vanilla on the nose. Similar overall flavor with less of a bite at the end. Very enjoyable for an everyday sipper or mixer.

Both of those bottles are absolute steals under $25. It's amazing what mass production can do to the price of a bottle of solid whiskey.

It's the only bottle series I'd flip - everytime

What's everyone's opinion on EHT SiB?

I have three EHT SmB (two unopened) and quite enjoy it. Is the SiB worth letting go some store picks as trades? Is the EHT SiB juice worth the squeeze on some scarce Weller?

EHT SiB is delicious.

I prefer SmB. SiB doesn't do anything special for me. Trade bait if I get the chance to buy at retail.

SmB is always good and consistent. I've had some really good and some not so good SiB. For whatever reason there are some definite misses on their SiB. I'll keep a SiB here and there but trade most since the value is so good on them.