Distillery: Buffalo Trace
Region: Frankfort, Kentucky
Aging: 15 Years
ABV: 53.5%
Proof: 107
Mash Bill: Undisclosed
Non-Chill Filtered: No
Price: $120 Retail – $2200 Secondary
Appearance: Honey
Nose: Sweet caramel, vanilla, oak and light fruits – cherry, apricot, and banana
Palate: Extremely smooth with a lovely brown sugar caramel flavor followed by oak and a very distinct fruit flavor. I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what fruit note I’m getting, but it’s along the lines of banana, cherry, and apricot. It almost reminds me of dried and candied fruit.
Finish: Wonderfully smooth finish with lots of vanilla, caramel, oak, and molasses.
Is Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Family Reserve an Approachable Whiskey?
Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year is extremely easy to drink and offers wonderfully balanced flavors. It is definitely a drink that everyone will enjoy, but with the $2200 secondary price tag, this is one for only the most experienced whiskey drinkers to truly appreciate.
Is Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Family Reserve Complex?
Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Family Reserve is one of the most complex bourbons I have ever tasted. Rather than having big bold oak and caramel flavors like most bourbons I review, Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year starts with lighter honey and brown sugar flavor and is followed up by an extremely well-balanced but unique fruit flavor.
I’m still unable to pinpoint exactly which fruit flavor notes I get from this pour and that is one of its charms.
With each sip you take, you just want to know more about the flavors you’re experiencing and that is part of the magic of this bottle.
Many say that Pappy Van Winkle bottles aren’t all that good, but I strongly disagree. This is a bottle I would sit with for hours and learn more with each sip.
What are Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Family Reserve’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year is extremely well-balanced which is probably its strongest attribute overall, but my favorite aspect of this pour was the depth of flavors. With each sip I took, I found myself reaching to locate exactly what flavor I just tasted.
Is Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Family Reserve priced accurately to its quality?
Pappy Van Winke 15 Year Family Reserve is a bottle that is extremely difficult to find. The only way you would be able to get this bottle here in Pennsylvania is to win it in the PA State Lottery which is incredibly difficult odds.
If you do win the lottery, you would have to win for this particular bottle with only a couple hundred bottles for the entire state and who knows how many end up going to licensee and employees.
However, if you did get selected to win this bottle, it would cost $119.99 MSRP which would be amazing. Obviously, I would buy as many bottles of this as I could at that price.
But the reality is that for most everyone to purchase this bottle, it would run them $2200+ if they can find one on the secondary market.
So when it comes to judging whether this bottle is priced accurately to its quality… at $120 absolutely. Yes, it is.
At the $2200 price tag, I would have a very hard time justifying that when you could use that money to buy plenty of other spectacular bottles of similar quality.
Conclusion for Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Family Reserve
My suggestion is to look in your area and find a high-end restaurant or whiskey bar that offers a pour of this one. It may cost you $100+ for a 1 oz pour, but that is the best way I can see most people being able to taste this one.
I lucked out and visited a restaurant in my area called Mary’s Vine. It was an amazing restaurant with over 500 bottles of wine, but it also had a secret whiskey bar in the basement with over 200 bottles which is where I got to taste this bottle.
You can read my full Mary’s Vine Review where I detail everything about my visit and take you through the experience of trying some of my bucket list whiskeys like this Pappy Van Winkle and Octomore 13.1.
I certainly hope I will own a bottle of this whiskey someday and be able to do a more in-depth review, but I can say that the pour was absolutely worth every penny.
Let Us Know What You Think
I hope you enjoyed reading about this tasting experience with me.
If you decide to buy yourself a pour of this, please let me know what you think of it social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
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