Pappy Van Winkles

[BostonTparty]

Anyone know where I can find Pappy Van Winkles bourbon in the Boston area?

[Locutus]

Watching Justified?

[food_lubber]

Haha, I was thinking the same thing.

[hckybg]

Me too. These threads suddenly have begun to appear, perhaps for that reason. I'll say in this one what I said in the other one, which is that I've never seen it anywhere, except one bottle of 23 year one time at Liquor World, which is probably the one jgg13 purchased. I've never seen any of the other Van Winkle brands either, even the Old Rip Van Winkle.

[chickendhansak]

I've found the 10 year old 90 proof and the 12 year old special reserve in Colonial in Acton in the past.

[BostonTparty]

Actually I read about it in my last issue of Bon Appetit

[rubysdad]

I've got my eye on Colonial and didn't see any...

[chickendhansak]

Yeah, this was about 18 months ago. I looked again since this thread and didn't see any.

[katzzz]

Nothing better than having a sadistic, perverted sociopathic TV character asking for Pappy by name to increase demand.
And they always have a bottle of it sitting there whenever Quarles goes into a bar and asks for it. I bet you couldn't find Pappy in a real Harlan County bar.

[ac106]

They also pimp it on Royal Pains and I think one other show

[katzzz]

One question no one has addressed, which I am curious to ask never having had a taste of Pappy. Is it that fantastic (and that much better than other high end bourbons) that it's worth the money?

[Beachowolfe]

It's not very expensive... $55 retail for the 12 year.

I believe the 15 is around $70 and the 20 around $100. The 23 is $250-260 which is the only one that's "expensive" but comparatively the Macallan 25 is $700 or so.

I feel that it is better than Black Maple Hill and Blanton's which are comparable in price.

[nickls]

I've seen Black Maple Hill under $40 as a regular price (not on sale). I like it better than Pappy's because you can actually buy it. I imagine there is also a good chance that you will end up paying above retail if you actually want to get your hands on some Pappy and aren't good friends with someone in the liquor industry.

I think this article sums things up pretty well about how the brand strategy for Pappy is all about making it highly desired through its scarcity: http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/24/small...

I couldn't say for myself how worth it Pappy is, having never tasted the stuff, but I'm not a fan of how the company is trying to boost its cachet just by making it really hard to get.

[rubysdad]

Yes. This bourbon will make you want to stand up and cheer.

[jgg13]

I've purchased a bottle of the 23 at Liquor World, not sure if they still have it. I've seen other Pappys there, but haven't explicitly looked.

I'm pretty sure that I've seen a bottle of 23 behind the bar at Lord Hobo, but I've not actually seen it on the menu and I never bothered to investigate (too pricey for my blood!)

[katzzz]

I was in Five Horses in Somerville last week and saw Pappy on the drink list. I asked how much for a shot. They only had the 23, having sold out of the less pricey stuff. A taste of the 23 was $50. No, I didn't try it.

[jgg13]

Yeah, that's why I didn't bother investigating at Hobo. Considering the bottles are 250-300ish, the individual pours at bars will be really expensive.

[BostonTparty]

I'm sorry I wasn't more specific . I am interested in buying a bottle of the stuff.

[food_lubber]

GIles Liquors in Woburn and Medford has had it in the past, as well as Kappy's, but it sells out fairly quickly. I suggest callling one of these stores first and see if they have any in stock before heading over.

[Northender]

For retail purchase, Federal Wine and Spirits on State Street in Downtown Boston had it the last time I checked which was few months ago.

[Beachowolfe]

I find that hard to believe since the shipment went out on March 2nd... I wouldn't imagine that they still had some left over from the last one.

Which bottle did you see and why the hell didn't you buy it, MAN!!!???

[Northender]

Non compos mentis

[Luther]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/822573

[emannths]

Area Four has them, if you're looking for on-premises: http://www.areafour.com/storage/menus...