There's simple, there's complex and then there's beyond: Pappy Van Winkle's 20 Year Old masterpiece.
The entire Van Winkle line (10-12-13-17-20-23) are produced and released just once a year in small quantities. They are rationed to selected retailers, who then ration it to only their best customers. Even so, not long after the annual release and sell-out, you'll see for example, the 20 year old (retailing for $100 to $120), being auctioned for prices often exceeding $300. Now a lot of such pricing is simply due to "I gotta have one" demand among those to whom price means less than possession. But it the case of the Van Winkles'...
It's because they are worth it.
The entire Van Winkle line gets top scores from all the leading reviewers, but the 20 Year Old is uniquely special. The Beverage Tasting Institute has been rating many thousands of spirits of all kinds for many, many years. And Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 20 Year Old has received the highest rating ever given for any spirit, of any price (some up to $4000): "99" out of 100. It is the world's highest rated spirit.
Ever.
Now, now I know. There's always a couple of monkeys who love to throw turds at their audience, and to be fair I too have a reputation for skepticism and throwing brickbats - particularly at super premium rums that are "super" in price and marketing alone. I've never spent more than $50 for any rum, and rarely spend more than $30. I believe that world class rums abound that can be had for much closer to $20, and even less. But I knew three things:
1. Pappy Van Winkle's 20 Year Old received the highest rating ever given a spirit.
2. It was simply not available anywhere.
3. I actually found one bottle in an out-of-the-way Indian liquor store.
Still, at $129 plus tax ($140), I walked away. This was ridiculous. Or was it? I agonized and finally realized after two days that if I didn't buy this single copy, I would forever regret not knowing. Whether it was truly worth its rating, or not, I simply had to know. I decided that I'd wait one more day, and if the lone bottle were still there...
I'd buy it. It was, and I did. Let's hear from Sue Sea:
Sue Sea:
Me:Over the past few years we've had the great pleasure to explore and to finally understand the world of rum. Of the more than 120 rums we have reviewed, there are but a handful that are truly great. None of these should be any surprise. They belong on a short list that includes Mount Gay Extra Old, Barbancourt Five Star, Seale's Ten Year, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva, Appleton Extra and El Dorado 12 Year. I should also include my personal favorites - Pusser's Blue Label and Rum San Pablo - as well as Dos Maderas 5+3, and Wray & Nephews Overproof. As I list these nine truly great rums, some honorable mentions come to mind as well: Doorly's XO, Prichard's Fine Rum and Westerhall. All said though, I'd have to give the top nods to just five of these.
Still, none of these truly compare to my experience with Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20 Year Bourbon. Let's start in the usual way.
In what kind of bottle does the highest rated spirit in the world delivered? Not the super-premium designer bottles that the marketing boys invariably create. No, Van Winkle comes in a plain and ordinary, clear glass bottle featuring an old-fashioned, sepia-toned old photo of the real Pappy Van Winkle smoking a long thin panatella. The small back label shows Pappy putting on the 18th hole, accompanied by his golf bag towing hunting dog, Buck. Somehow this seems as it should be. All the attention is on the spirit.
Honestly classic, not the least bit "put on".
At the first pour I was immediately struck by it's brilliant deep amber, almost burnt vienna color, sparkling and bright, with an unusual thin green film across the top. All truly aged spirts seem to display what is called a "green edge" around the perimeter, but I'd never seen a tinged layer across the entire surface. The aroma was divine, lovely and complex. Smoky and simply beautiful. I found:
Bourbon, of course, leather, orange citrus, vanilla, deep raisin and prune. A grain sweetness, sweet corn and a baked, freshly buttered warm cornbread. If a spirit can have a heavy-bodied aroma, Pappy Van Winkle has it. Furniture polish, leather topped table, nutty (pecan and macadamia), baked nutbread fresh from the oven, and a mincemeat. This spirit is amazingly aromatic and complex and really requires much, much time to appreciate. Add ripe banana in a brown sugary nutbread, licorice, cacao and dark chocolate. I found ginger, cinnamon, and clove. A nice deep caramel. I could go on.
The Pappy's palate is unique in that all these and more may be experienced. These others include sherry, dark ripe bing cherry, real root and ginger beers and apricot, with a hint of smoke throughout. The palate absolutely reflects and validates the marvelous and varied aromas, with amazing consistency and balance. Most rums and spirits develop with identifiable early, middle and late palates which finally transition to a finish and aftertaste. The Van Winkle is different. It is sophistication personified, and keeps setting off sensory impressions. It is so rich, so voluptuous, balanced and sophisticated and well rounded that the sensations are delivered in a smooth and nearly unending surge.
You can get literally lost in its menagerie of aromas and tastes.
Aromas and flavors keep appearing, are replaced and reappear. It's like walking through a house of mirrors, an experience I'd like to define as an "echo". The sipping of Pappy Van Winkle supercedes the usual experience of aroma - early, mid and late palates - finish and aftertaste. It is simply a marvelous maze of gorgeous and echoing sensations that are entirely reflective and consistent, balanced and memorable. I simply love this spirit, with the entire tasting experience echoing the nose, like a fresh warm and rich baked treat just out of Grandma's oven.
In closing, I think every serious taster of spirits must buy this incredible offering while it is still possible. Keep it for very special occasions, to be sipped with great care and contemplation. Learn and appreciate what may well be the world's highest rated spirit. It sets a standard of aspiration for all spirits. You will grow from the experience.
Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20 Year Old Bourbon (say THAT ten time fast)! By now you've gotten the idea that Pappy's bourbon is something very special. Do I agree with Sue Sea? Let me start by saying that I approach all wines and spirits with skepticism, not least due to the world of mega-corporate marketing. Vodka, in general, IS marketing, a sham of a relatively tasteless spirit. Canadian whisky is the spam of spirits, can and does contain up to 10% of flavorings, smoothers and even cheap sherry wine. Most rum contains unlabeled artificial and "natural" flavorings and spices, smoothers, glycerol, sugar and sherry.
Case closed. Be skeptical.
Fortunately, all is not lost. There remain a great number of distillers, particulary of single malt whiskies, bourbon whisky and yes, even a reasonable number of rums that are relatively honest and pure, and whose marvelous aromas and tastes flow from the distiller's art of fermentation, skillful distillation, aging and blending. It has also been said that at the highest levels of this art the great brown spirits tend to resemble one another, be they whisky, bourbon or rum.
It is fortunate indeed that Sue Sea and I have reviewed over 120 rums and other spirits, and have done so with care and attention. We are always aware that many people count on our advice. We are constantly learning and growing, and doing our best to educate others in their own quest to know and appreciate rum in particular. Spirits tasting is far more than simply reporting a laundry list of clever adjectives and descriptors, or awarding "points" for the bottle. Far more important are the notions of intrigue, invitation, complexity, balance, harmony, uniqueness, pleasant surprise and memorability, from the approach to the memory of the experience.
To be fair, newer spirits drinkers may lack the experience and points of reference to appreciate a truly fine spirit, particularly one as special as this Pappy Van Winkle. Those of you who have enjoyed rums like Mount Gay Extra Old, Sea Wynde, Pussers Blue and Red Labels, Barbancourt Five Star and 15 Year, Seales Ten Year, Santa Teresa 1796, Appleton Extra or Prichard's Fine Rum, among a few others will have the best chance of a truly memorable experience.
Pappy Van Winkle takes time. A good dram should take at least half an hour, or more. It is to be savored and explored. And having said that I must expand on Sue Sea's observation that this is a spirit in which you can get lost. Forget the usual tasting routine and notions of slicing the taste experience into standalone stages. Pappy Van Winkle simply flows from beginning to its long and persistant ending.
To my tasting...
My focus will be on the primary elements. Pappy Van Winkle's 20 Year Old opening is rich, deep and incredibly complex. Just as you think you've identified the primary elements, they change. And there's always something else there, just around the corner. It's like walking a maze with yet another turn, a new sight just ahead, and just behind. Though changing, my primary nose focused on a lovely warm deep sweet grain - corn - with a mouthwatering cacao and dark chocolate. But then again...
There is much more that just keeps appearing as this spirit airs and emerges. It is magic. Spend more than a split second and you'll find something else, and be drawn back and back. It's so good that you don't want to proceed to the tasting. And you shouldn't.
The palate was entirely consistent with the aroma, rich and delicious, and leading to a deep, dark and peppery bing cherry and chocolate finish. And remember - these were simply my primaries. All you have read is all there, all the time. And lingers and lingers. The finish/aftertaste is notable and lingers for more time than any other spirit or rum I've ever tasted. There are a few notable spirits, mostly single malts (think Laphroig) that can stay with you for hours. Pappy is one of these.
And like some of the great single malts, Pappy Van Winkle has the ability to capture you. I really dislike bourbon whisky, but I love Pappy Van Winkle. For those of you who wish to share this experience I urge you to preorder one for the next release, as I will. Now if the price is a problem you might want to consider the Van Winkle 15 Year Old, which has scored nearly as high, is actually preferred by a few, and sells for closer to $70.
Do it!
Score (ten is best): 11. It doesn't get any better.
