Take home this complete and highly exclusive collection of Pappy Van Winkle bourbons, spanning all three generations---from “Pappy the great” salesman, to the producer, from generation to generation. This lot contains 16 bottles in total, spanning every decade for the last 120 years, and encompasses the entire history of the Van Winkle’s reign as the Royal Family of bourbon. One thing is for certain: this collection is among the rarest in all of bourbon.
In 1893, when he was 18 years old, Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. began working as a salesman for the liquor wholesaler, W.L. Weller & Sons. Fifteen years later, he and another Weller salesman bought the firm. In 1910 they acquired the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, and from there the sky was the limit!
This package includes the following bottles:
Details of the bottles:
1895-1905 Mammoth Cave-- Original Weller. This bottle is identified in the 1999 Pappy Van Winkle book as one of the earliest labels, one can only imagine Pappy out going door to door offering this delicious brown water! Mammoth Cave is a bourbon brand with a storied history. This was distilled all the way back in 1895 at what was then called the Old Times, registered distillery number 1 in the 5th district of Kentucky. The Old Times distillery, built in 1869 changed hands several times over the years, and was eventually sold off two years after this was distilled, and renamed Willow Creek. A new Old Times was built across the street, and by 1901 had been renamed Number One distillery. This was bottled in bond there in 1914. The distillery was one of the hundreds that did not survive the Prohibition era, when the production and sale of alcohol was made illegal in the US, and closed its doors for good in 1920.
This is a Bottled in Bond whiskey, which means that by law the whiskey had to be the product of a single distilling season, the date of distillation and bottling must be displayed, as must the distillery in which both took place. Additionally, all bottles had a required alcoholic strength of 100 US proof. The Bottled in Bond Act was passed two years after this was distilled, in 1897 and the campaign for its ratification was spearheaded by none other than a certain Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. The purpose of the act was to ensure a legal standard of quality, and a definition for what could be described as bourbon whiskey. The Act was fiercely opposed by "Rectifiers," who produced cheap whiskey using grain neutral spirits and flavorings.
One such Rectifier was the W.L Weller and Sons company who, following the success of the Bottled in Bond Act eventually turned to the business of legitimate distilling. They would go on to purchase the Mammoth Cave brand at the onset of Prohibition, and bottled it as a medicinal product (a legal loophole that permitted whiskey sales during Prohibition, by a select few licensees), using whiskey procured from the A.Ph. Stitzel distillery, an important relationship that would lead to the creation of the legendary Stitzel-Weller in 1935.
Most examples of Mammoth Cave still in existence today are from this later W.L Weller period, and this pre-prohibition bottling from the Old Times distillery is an incredible artifact from the history of American whiskey.
25 Year Pappy Van Winkle: Pappy Van Winkle Aged 25 Years 750ml. The 25 year old came from eleven barrels of bourbon distilled in 1989 at Stitzel-Weller distillery, where they rested until being moved to Buffalo Trace distillery's warehouses in 2002. In 2014, the whiskey was moved to stainless steel tanks to keep it from becoming over-aged.
23 Year Decanter Crystal Set: The backstory on this special Van Winkle bourbon is that it was bottled at a barrel strength of 114 proof – the first such time – from barrels said to have been hand-selected by Preston Van Winkle and Julian Van Winkle III that were “from the lower, cooler floors of the aging warehouse, allowing this wheat-recipe bourbon to age more gracefully.” It was barreled in the spring of 1986, and only 1,200 decanter sets were ever released. Each bottle was individually hand-engraved and numbered to commemorate the bottling.
Old Mock: This nearly 90-year-old historic bottle of Old Mock "18 Summers Old" was Distilled by Davies County Distillery Company registered Distillery No. 2 in the 2nd District of Kentucky in the Spring of 1916. It was then bottled at Distillery Bonded Warehouse No.17 in Louisville, Kentucky in the Fall of 1933. "Manufactured Prior to January 17, 1920" and marketed for "Medicinal Purposes Only," this is a true piece of bourbon history, worthy of only the best bourbon collections.
Pappy's PH. Stitzel 1917: Pappy Van Winkle's cousin's were the Pogue's of Maysville Kentucky. The Pogues' start the brand, Pappy and a kiddo named Weller start their own firm in 1908.. in 1910--they buy the Stitzel Distillery, and well you know, this rest is history! This bottle of "Old Jordan" was produced at a Van Winkle Family distillery in 1917, then aged during the prohibition Volstead act, then bottled in 1933 at the end of prohibition.
Notice of Updated Buyer Terms of Use
We have recently updated our Buyer Terms of Use. We encourage you to review the revised terms to ensure continued understanding and compliance. By continuing to use our platform, you acknowledge and agree to the updated terms. View the updated Terms of Use
