Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 15 Year from the 2013 bottling, listed here as the Santa Edition, is the Van Winkle family's wheated Kentucky straight bourbon at 107 proof. Bourbon does not evolve in glass the way wine does, so what you pour reflects the barrels chosen in 2013.
About This Bourbon
The 15 Year is the barrel-strength end of the Family Reserve line, bottled at 107 proof (53.5% ABV) from wheated bourbon aged for at least fifteen years. With a 2013 bottling date, the youngest whiskey inside was distilled no later than 1998, a few years before the family's present production set-up began. Expect a slightly hazy copper colour, which is normal for a bourbon bottled this close to cask strength.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Brown sugar, cinnamon, dried cherry and old saddle leather.
- Palate: Rich and dense, with toffee, stewed plum, clove and a soft, bready wheat sweetness.
- Finish: Warming and persistent, with cocoa, charred oak and gentle spice.
Serving & Food
Pour a small measure at cool room temperature into a copita and let it breathe for ten minutes before the first sip. Add water drop by drop only if the alcohol dominates. It sits well beside smoked duck breast, candied walnuts, or a cigar on a cool evening.
How to Enjoy
A festive gift for a bourbon drinker who follows release years, or the centrepiece of a Christmas tasting.
Product Details
Producer: Old Rip Van Winkle
Expression: Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 15 Year
Style: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Mash Bill: Wheated (corn, wheat, malted barley)
Age: 15 years old
ABV: 107 proof / 53.5% ABV
Release Year: 2013
Volume: 750mL
Region: Kentucky, USA
Origin: USA
About the Distillery
Pappy Van Winkle ran his business on a simple creed: make good bourbon, profitably if he could, at a loss if he had to, but never anything less than fine bourbon. The line is still quoted by the family today, and he stayed involved in the industry until his death in 1965.
Control then passed to his son, Julian Jr., known in the family as "Big Van". He had served as a tank commander in the Philippines during the Second World War and came home with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. He inherited a distillery that was facing a shrinking bourbon market.