Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon 2017 Release Details Emerge

Details have emerged on the Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon 2017 line up, including what suggested retail pricing will be.

And so we come to it, the culmination of the fall rare bourbon release cycle which each year sends hordes of buyers into liquor stores across the country in search of valued whiskey treasure. Buffalo Trace/Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery have unveiled the details for the 2017 Van Winkle bourbons.

For the 2017 Van Winkle whiskeys, those behind them said, yields are a bit higher for the 10, 15 and 23 year old whiskies, but the 13-Year-Old Van Winkle Reserve Rye will not be released this year. Although the bourbons have become increasingly popular worldwide in recent years, very little is sold overseas, so that most of these coveted bottles are available in the United States.

Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon 2017
image via Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery

“We have a one year gap in barrel inventory for the Van Winkle Rye,” said Kris Comstock, Buffalo Trace senior marketing director, in a prepared statement.”Our current barrels are 12 years old. So rather than compromise on quality or remove the age statement, we decided it would be best to hold off this year and bottle them next year as the 13 Year Old Rye Whiskey fans have come to expect.”

As is the case with releases each year of these highly coveted whiskeys, how they actually price versus what the MSRP is ranges greatly. For 2017 the suggested prices from Buffalo Trace are:

  • $59.99 – Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon 10 Year Old 107 proof
  • $69.99 – Van Winkle Special Reserve Bourbon 12 Year Old
  • $99.99 – Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 15 Year Old
  • $169.99 – Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 20 Year Old
  • $269.99 – Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 23 Year Old

“Unfortunately we do not control the pricing retailers charge, so many retailers mark it up, even though we ask them not to,” noted Julian Van Winkle, president, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery. “We have not raised prices and do not intend to do so drastically in the future. We are committed to our quality and our pricing and hope retailers will honor what we suggest as retail pricing.”

The Van Winkle whiskeys will be available starting in November but, as usual, supply is quite limited and bottles shall be hard to find in stores, bars and restaurants. They will be packed three bottles per case.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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