# Woo! Just got myself a bottle of Pappy... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976 "2016-12-05T23:59:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/1 "2016-12-05T23:59:09Z")
20 year old. One of the local liquor stores holds a lottery every year when the Pappy gets released. It’s too hard to get so they thought it would be fair to do it this way. Hundreds of people signed up in advance (required.) They had 1 bottle of 23 year, 2 bottles of 20, a few 15, 12 and 10. They also had a very nice assortment of other hard-to-find bottles. People were jammed into the store. It must have been over the fire code limit. Anyway, they finally begin and call the first name. Not me. The guy goes up to select his bottle (only allowed to buy one.) They announce the 23 year old was gone. The crowd groans. They call the second name, but this time I can’t hear what he purchased. The 3rd and 4th names were no-shows. Then… me! I NEVER win stuff like this. I made my way through the envious crowd to the front and they told me 20 year old was still there. I had not really thought it would be an option so I didn’t even contemplate the cost, but I got caught up in the moment. I already have 2 people I know offering to buy it for $100 more than I paid. I think I’m going to hold onto it for awhile… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/2 "2016-12-06T00:08:05Z")
What is it? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/3 "2016-12-06T00:26:11Z")
Congrats. A few years ago before the great bourbon inflation my brother in law gave me some. I don’t remember how old it was. It looks like online stores are asking around $2,000 to $3,000 for the 20 year. I wonder if they really have a bottle or they will find one if you are willing to spend $2,000. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/4 "2016-12-06T00:58:20Z")
Whoa… That’s a lot more than it cost me. Maybe I should starting taking bids… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/5 "2016-12-06T00:59:38Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > What is it? Bourbon ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/6 "2016-12-06T01:06:09Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Bourbon a nice Bourbon made expensive by limiting production and made famous by inserting the product into TV shows. It’s the bourbon version of Crystal Champagne. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/7 "2016-12-06T01:34:11Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > a nice Bourbon made expensive by limiting production and made famous by inserting the product into TV shows. > > It’s the bourbon version of Crystal Champagne. I think this post just burst the bubble of the OP’s image of it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/8 "2016-12-06T01:43:40Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I think this post just burst the bubble of the OP’s image of it. Just because it’s well marketed doesn’t make it bad. Nobody would buy it if it was. I have a close friend that loves that kind of thing. My palate is a little closer to my wallet by necessity. I have to admit I smiled when I saw it inserted into a TV show. I think what the store is doing is really great. Hopefully the person who wins isn’t a scalper as that defeats the purpose of the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/9 "2016-12-06T01:53:06Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > a nice Bourbon made expensive by limiting production and made famous by inserting the product into TV shows. > > It’s the bourbon version of Crystal Champagne. [Why Pappy Van Winkle Can Cost Over $2,000 a Bottle](http://coolmaterial.com/feature/why-pappy-van-winkle-is-so-expensive/) > [@](#): > > The point is, a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve is super rare. They come in 15-, 20-, and 23-year-old versions, and despite their modest suggested retail price of between $80 and $250, these bottles of bourbon routinely fetch anywhere from $750 to over $5,000 on the market. > > But why? Why on earth would we possibly pay thousands of dollars for something that will eventually filter through our kidneys and return to the world as urine. Why should we literally piss away our money? > > **It’s Really F\*cking Good** > > But you ask, “Is the bourbon even good?” Well, yes. In fact, it’s so good that celebrity chef and social culinary anarchist Anthony Bourdain once announced on Twitter that he was seriously considering a Pappy Van Winkle-themed full back tattoo. No, we aren’t kidding. > > Many attribute Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve’s unique taste to its heavy use of wheat over rye or corn. It gives it less of a “bite,” and is far more refined and softer than most other bourbons, which very well compliments its velvety mouthfeel and notes of vanilla, cherry, and light smokiness. > **Awards** > > If “Best Bourbon Ever on the Whole Planet” was an actual award, there are very few who would doubt that it’d go to Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve. The bourbon has won just about every award worth winning, including Wine & Spirits “Spirit of the Year” award, a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a Best-In-Class Gold Medallion in the International Wine and Spirit Competition, a score of 99 from the Beverage Testing Institute, and a slew of others. > > Whether on paper or in your mouth, it’s the best of the best. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/10 "2016-12-06T01:55:22Z")
Lucky bastard. I won a lottery last year and got a bottle of the 12. It’s still in the cabinet, waiting for the appropriate moment. For those who lack the wallet or taste buds for the Pappy, find a bottle of W. L. Weller Special Reserve or Old Weller Antique. Same mash bill, just different aging and blending. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/11 "2016-12-06T02:07:08Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I think this post just burst the bubble of the OP’s image of it. Not in the least, but feel free to learn something new today. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/12 "2016-12-06T02:38:35Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Why Pappy Van Winkle Can Cost Over $2,000 a Bottle](http://coolmaterial.com/feature/why-pappy-van-winkle-is-so-expensive/) While it may be a great bourbon that’s not the reason for the high selling price. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/13 "2016-12-06T03:00:45Z")
I used to get the 15 every year if I could or every other year before the craze sent the prices sky-high. I was happy to pay $75 but there’s no way I’m paying what it fetches today; lots of other very good bourbons in the world… ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/14 "2016-12-06T03:33:08Z")
Now I am willing to volunteer to help determine if it is really that good. In the interest of science of course. Have me over and open it up! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/15 "2016-12-06T03:42:21Z")
Over 20 years ago a good friend gave me a bottle of limited edition Old Potrero Single Malt Rye Whiskey, produced by the Anchor Distillery in San Francisco and bottled in 1999 in a numbered series of 1800 bottles. After he left I examined the label and noted that it was bottle #0001. I have been SO IN AWE of this bottle that it still has 1/3 of its contents. Also because it is 100 proof and kinda tastes like shit. At the moment I am enjoying a glass of Heaven Hill bourbon with ice and a little seltzer. Heaven Hill runs me around $17 a liter in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/16 "2016-12-06T03:43:43Z")
Let’s say “over 15 years ago.” I was told there would be no math in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/17 "2016-12-06T04:10:16Z")
My tipple of the evening is some E. H. Taylor Small Batch Bottled-In-Bond with a touch of water to open the nose. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/18 "2016-12-06T04:10:57Z")
Well it may not be the first glass of Heaven Hill you’ve had tonight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/19 "2016-12-06T04:15:10Z")
Back in 2011, my wife hit the jackpot and got me a 15 year old pappy, two 20 year olds and a 23 year old. The problem? I don’t care for wheated bourbons, so I gave it all away. This was before the market went insane, of course. Had I just held onto it a year or two I could have made serious money. This was back when it was all the mythologized Stitzel-Weller disatllate. Now it’s all Buffalo Trace, distinctly different, so I.m not sure why the craze continues. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976/20 "2016-12-06T08:59:00Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I think what the store is doing is really great. Hopefully the person who wins isn’t a scalper as that defeats the purpose of the lottery. At the risk of increasing the hint of sourness, it is morally unexceptionable to dispose of prizes for money, and in some cases — say if one swapped the win of a luxury car for the asking price, say a Koenigsegg, to buy a small home — it would be inadvisable not too. If one preferred a small home to a Koenigsegg. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woo-just-got-myself-a-bottle-of-pappy/773976.md?page=2)