Pappy Van Winkle 20yo ‘Family Reserve’
Had a Japanese in an earlier posting, why not a bourbon tonight, lest this blog appears overly scotch-biased.
Crowds of people queuing outisde Macallan for the Easter Elchies bottling? Meh, again! Fancy that.
Islay tampled underfoot with whisky tourists after the annual Feis Ile bottlings? Nothing new, but oohlala, Lagavulin 18yo Feis Ile is allegedly deliciously sherried.. Still, de rigeur for Islay malts.
Can bourbon inspire the same fanatical desires? Yes. Yes, apparently it can.
These are people queuing up for a Pappy Van Winkle release:
Well it was either stay in queue for hours or get onto a ten year waiting list.
In other news:
…late last year, 65 cases of the drink, which has been awarded 99 out of 100 by the Beverage Tasting Institute, were stolen in a heist that has mystified the local town and been referred to as the “bourbon theft of the decade” (Source: NBC)
The ‘drink’ in question is Pappy Van Winkle 20 yo, how convenient I should have a bottle in hand:
Pappy Van Winkle 20yo ‘Family Reserve’
Sorry about the mess.
Nose: Complex, leather, caramel, creamy vanilla, dry spices, zingy despite its (for a bourbon) age, all well integrated, and well balanced so that one scent never overpowers the rest. So much going on behind the obvious bourbon. Something earthy, and preserves.
Palette: Delivers! Smooooth, with 4 ‘o’s, sweet caramel sauce, fruit coulis, but balanced with the pinch of the tannins. Hit of a banana dessert. Leaves the mouth with some dryness.
Finish: Long, lingering.. becomes slightly woody and dry. Something in the everlasting finish reminds me of flambé banana fritters?
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