Spirits · Frankfort, Kentucky
Pappy Van Winkle
The Van Winkle family's long-aged wheated bourbon, now made at Buffalo Trace.
- Founded by
- Julian P. Van Winkle Jr., Julian Van Winkle III
- Based in
- Frankfort, Kentucky
Their story
The Van Winkle name goes back to Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr., who started out in 1893 as an 18-year-old salesman for a Louisville whiskey wholesaler. He and a partner later bought the business and a distillery, and in 1935 opened the Stitzel-Weller plant in Shively, Kentucky. Pappy stayed involved until he died in 1965 at 91.
In 1972 shareholders forced the sale of Stitzel-Weller. Pappy's son, Julian Jr., revived an old family label, Old Rip Van Winkle, and in 1977 formed J.P. Van Winkle & Son with his own son, Julian III. Julian III took over in 1981, and his son Preston joined in 2001.
Today the family works in a joint venture with Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, where all Van Winkle whiskey is now produced. This 10 year bottling is part of the Old Rip Van Winkle line.
How it's made
Van Winkle bourbons use wheat rather than rye as the secondary grain in the mash, which the family says gives a softer whiskey that ages gracefully. The whiskeys are aged longer than most bourbons on the market. Distilling and aging take place at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Why we carry them
Van Winkle bottles are scarce, so when one comes our way we see it as a chance to taste a family style that shaped wheated bourbon. The 10 year is the youngest way in.
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