Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 23 Year Old NV 750ml

My review of this whiskey a few years back indicated that it was too woody and past its prime to be a great whiskey. This one is better. (Yes, bottlings do change.) There’s more balance, and the oak is in check. It’s still big and brooding, with notes of toffee, roasted nuts, dried spice (cinnamon, rosemary, evergreen needles), candied fruit, cocoa, and polished oak. Tobacco and toffee on the finish, with lingering dried spice, and there’s a nice foundation of sweetness to balance all that oak and spice.

Rich, bold, and complex aromas and flavors; mouth-filling flavors that persist; long, elegant finish.

Highest Recommendation.

I know that this whiskey is expensive compared to many American whiskeys, but if and when you taste it, you’ll think that it’s worth every penny. for one thing, few American whiskeys can gracefully hold up to over 20 years in barrel, but this one has in spades. the entry taste is lively and vivid, while the midpalate and finish showcase distinctive elements of popcorn, cornbread and toffee. It’s a seemingly endless parade of no-nonsense aromas and flavors that only grow in concentration. One of Julian Van Winkle’s hallmark efforts in my book. Fantastic stuff.

When the first limited edition Pappy van Winkle Family Reserve 23-Year-Old Bourbon came out in 2003, it sold out instantly, becoming somewhat of a Bourbon-drinker’s Loch Ness monster, fabled but never seen. The Old Rip van Winkle distillery released a new bottling late last year, and it is every bit as delicious as you’ve heard. Bottled at 95.6 proof yet still remarkably smooth, it is redolent with earthy mushroom aromas that lead to flavors of peach and caramel-laced wood. The best part is the finish, lasting long on sweet and aromatic wood notes that beg for a cigar.