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Bourbon Review: Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old

As we head into the home stretch of our Van Winkle reviews we check out Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old, one of the mythical unicorns of the bourbon world.

OVERALL RATING

10
$2,399
  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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Tasting Notes

About:

The Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old is bottled at 90.4 proof and is, according to Buffalo Trace, “The #1 rated Bourbon Whiskey in the world with a 99 out of 100 rating by the World Spirits Championship.”


Appearance:
Luxurious, burnt caramel.
Nose:
This is so, so rich: butterscotch, brown butter, fresh dark cherries dipped in milk chocolate, vanilla bean, sherry, Raisinettes, plum jam, figs, dark honey. Yet among it all there’s still a fundamental freshness, lemon pulp and lime zest. There’s a lot of oak character here, but it’s neither spicy nor astringent. In fact, there’s no sting at all – this is the kind of thing you can smell forever and never tire of.
Palate:
Ugh, this is so good. The entry still has a bit of that characteristic lemony tartness but this time it’s offset by these very rich umami flavors: cherries soaked in sherry, hickory smoked jerky with a brown sugar liqueur. The mid-palate is enormous, with big leathery/nutty/sherry-like oxidized flavors as well as some very delicate cinnamon and nutmeg spice.
Finish:
Finish is long and nutty yet somehow refreshing, finally leaving you resting on a delicate dark chocolate note. So delightful it makes you want to delay tasting anything else as long as possible.
Comments:
This was a grand slam. Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old tastes like a perfectly made dessert, hitting all the major flavor categories – bitter, sweet, savory, sour. I can’t think of anything else to say about this release except that it’s about as close to perfect as anything ever gets.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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