Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 Year Rye
The Pappy Van Winkle line of whiskies is one of my favorite collections out there today. From the ground up it’s a family of great to excellent bourbons, from the Old Rip Van Winkle all the way up to the Pappy Van Winkle 23-year. But it may be the Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 Year Rye that I get the most excited about.
While I thoroughly enjoy a good bourbon, and firmly believe that bourbon deserves a place in every whisk(e)y drinker’s quiver (especially those whisk(e)y drinkers that enjoy a good cigar here and there, as I’m nearly convinced that bourbon marries beautifully with a cigar), a good rye can really knock my socks off in a way that bourbons never quite manage. I’ve been lucky enough to try some great ryes, including the Black Maple Hill 18-year and 23-year, the Sazerac Thomas Handy 6-year and 18-year, and the Rittenhouse 23-year, and in each case have been spellbound by the dimensions of flavors that they exhibited, not just creamy caramels, but resins, spices, and fruits.
The Van Winkle 13-year Rye confirms the great experiences that I’ve had with these other ryes. And given the family’s distilling pedigree, it’s no real surprise.
The “Pappy” in Pappy Van Winkle is the original Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle who began work as a traveling salesman for the WL Weller & Sons wholesaler in Louisville in 1893, at the age of 18. In 1908, along with a partner he purchased the firm and later purchased a related company, the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, forming the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. The Stitzel distillery had been founded in 1872. Their prominent brands were W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still.
A new distillery was opened in Shively, Kentucky in 1935 when Pappy was 61, and he led operations there until 1963 at the age of 89. His son, Julian Jr., sold the distillery in 1972, but maintained ownership of the Van Winkle label. Since then he, and later his son Julian III, have continued to produce whiskey, renting time on other company’s stills. They first distilled at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery itself until 1992, then at the Bernheim Distillery, and later (and currently) at the Buffalo Trace Distillery (owned by Sazerac) in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Today, the Van Winkle whiskies include Old Rip Van Winkle, Rip Van Winkle 107, and the Van Winkle 12, 15, 20, and 23 year Bourbons. And, of course, the 13-year Rye.
Not only is the whiskey top notch, but the bottle is nice too, classy in a simple way with a tan label with red trim and black font. The label has, hand written, the number I2953, which I take to be either the number of the bottle, or the cask that they bottled. It was bottled at 47.8%.
In the glass, the whiskey is a shimmering, coppery gold. The nose has notes of hazelnuts, toffee, vanilla, caramel, and a whiff of citrus. The palate has a lighter texture and body than the nose would lead you to expect, albeit not in a bad way. It’s simply more refreshing than the sweet flavors on the nose would indicate. The flavors are composed of vanilla, toffee, slightly astringent citrus, oranges, and just a bit of zip from the alcohol. Very smooth and dangerously drinkable. On the finish the citrus and vanilla are dominant, rounded off by a soothing hint of buttered rum.
This rye is less peppery and more bourbon-like than others that I’ve tried. The caramel, toffee, and vanilla flavors are dominant, very reminiscent of the older Van Winkle bourbons. Definitely not a bad thing, as those are some fabulous whiskies, as is this one. And given the fact that it is also very affordable, I simply cannot recommend this whiskey highly enough – if you can find it. That’s the trick, this is a tough whiskey to find, as are most of the very nice ryes out there. So don’t hesitate if you see it. And then raise a glass to Pappy!
Related Posts:
And where, oh where, do you find it? We had it at the Hungry Mother. And we loved it.