From the 2020 release, this Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year is a wheated Kentucky straight bourbon at 107 proof. It comes from the partnership between the Van Winkle family and the Sazerac Company's Buffalo Trace Distillery.
About This Bourbon
Wheat takes the place of rye in the grain recipe, giving the soft, bready sweetness the family is known for. The whiskey spends ten years in new charred oak at Buffalo Trace and is bottled at 107 proof with just a touch of water. The release comes once a year in autumn, and 2020 bottles followed that pattern.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Warm caramel, vanilla and oak, with nutmeg and a little dried apricot.
- Palate: Rich and mellow, with toffee, cinnamon, soft grain and seasoned wood.
- Finish: Long and warming, with oak, caramel and a slow spice fade.
Serving & Food
A tulip glass at room temperature works well; sip it neat first, then add a splash of water or one cube. At the dinner table it pairs with Peking duck, roasted chestnuts or a bread pudding with bourbon sauce.
How to Enjoy
Van Winkle collectors filling a year, and anyone after a wheated bourbon with real body behind it.
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: 2020
Distillery: Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky (Sazerac)
Volume: 750mL
Origin: USA
Region: Kentucky
About the Distillery
In 2002 Julian Van Winkle III and his son Preston, who had joined the business the year before, agreed a production deal with Buffalo Trace in Frankfort. Buffalo Trace already owned the W.L. Weller brand and was making a wheated bourbon very close to the old Stitzel-Weller recipe, so the fit was natural.
The Lawrenceburg bottling operation was wound down and production moved to Frankfort. The 10 Year was the bottle that made the timing matter: as the youngest age statement, it was the first to need new wheated whiskey once the Stitzel-Weller stocks dried up. The older Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve bottlings share the same grain recipe but spend far longer in wood.