Episode 440: August 31, 2013

Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbons may well be some of the hardest whiskies to find, and hundreds of people call the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery office in Louisville every year begging to get just one bottle. Celebrities, ordinary people with a special occasion, and the most ardent Bourbon lovers all get the same answer from Preston Van Winkle and his father, Julian Van Winkle III: “We can’t help you, now, but if you check with your local retailer in October, they might be able to find you a bottle.” Preston Van Winkle joins us for this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth to discuss “Pappy-Mania” — and he’ll tell us why this year’s 23-year-old Pappy may well be the last of its kind. Ryan Maloney of Julio’s Liquors in Massachusetts explains why he and his colleagues have to resort to lotteries to allocate their few bottles of Pappy each year, and Benjamin Lee will tell us about his quest to explore all 59 U.S. national parks (and a few distilleries) by motorcycle.

Links: Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery | Glenglassaugh | Balcones Distilling | Old Pulteney | Paddy | The Bon Accord | Delilah’s | The Downtown Hotel’s Sourtoe Cocktail | Parker Beam’s Promise of Hope Fund | 59 Parks | Julio’s Liquors