Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year from the 2019 release is a wheated Kentucky bourbon at 107 proof, made at Buffalo Trace for the Van Winkle family. It is the youngest bottle in the Van Winkle line-up, and shares its 107 proof with Pappy 15.
About This Bourbon
Since 2002 all Van Winkle whiskey has been produced at Buffalo Trace, using that distillery's wheated recipe, which is very close to the one Pappy used. The 10 Year matures a decade in new charred oak and is bottled at 107 proof after a light cut with water, keeping more body than the 90.4 proof Lot B and Pappy 20. The 2019 release followed the usual autumn schedule.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Vanilla bean and caramel, with old oak, honey and sweet baking spice.
- Palate: Smooth but assertive, with toffee, cinnamon, roasted nuts and soft wheat sweetness.
- Finish: Gently spicy and lasting, finishing on caramel and polished wood.
Serving & Food
Keep it at cellar or room temperature and serve in a nosing glass, with a small jug of water on the side. Dishes that work well: honey-glazed spare ribs, pecan brittle and a wedge of aged Gruyère.
How to Enjoy
Anyone who wants the Van Winkle wheated style at its fullest strength, and gift-givers marking a 2019 milestone.
Product Details
Brand: Old Rip Van Winkle
Category: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey (wheated)
Age: 10 years old
ABV: 107 proof / 53.5% ABV
Release year: 2019
Distillery: Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky
Volume: 750mL
Origin: USA
Region: Kentucky
About the Distillery
Julian Van Winkle III took over the family business at 32, when his father died in 1981. Stitzel-Weller stopped bottling for the family soon after, so in 1983 he bought the old Hoffman Distillery site in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, to store and bottle his whiskey himself.
Through the 1980s and 1990s he bought up aged wheated barrels, adding 12 and 15 year bottlings and, in 1994, the first Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year. When Stitzel-Weller closed in 1992 he knew his supply of younger wheated stock would eventually run out, and that problem shaped the move that followed.