This is the oldest whiskey the Van Winkle family has ever bottled, and its story is unusually precise for a bourbon this scarce. The liquid was distilled in 1989 at the original Stitzel-Weller Distillery, aged there until the family moved production to Buffalo Trace in 2002, and held in barrel until 2014 — at which point it was transferred to stainless steel to stop the clock and protect the flavor before being bottled in 2017. Eleven barrels yielded just 710 decanters, each one a hand-engraved Glencairn crystal vessel, individually numbered, finished with a silver stopper, and boxed in a case built from used barrel staves with a signed certificate. It is the scarcest of all the family's bottlings; the 2017 release price has been left far behind by the secondary market. For a serious collection it is a genuinely collectible centerpiece — the top of the Van Winkle range, a full two years older than the Pappy 23.

A whiskey this old and this scarce belongs in a Glencairn, neat, with time to breathe — the caramel and vanilla need a few minutes to come up through the oak. A single drop of water can round the wood without dulling it. Ice is best avoided; the cold flattens the layered oak and dark fruit that twenty-five years built. More than most bottles, this is one to pour rarely and with intent, never to mix.

The 25 Year is built on the Van Winkle wheated mash bill, with wheat in place of rye alongside corn and malted barley; the exact ratio is not published, but estimates cluster around 16% wheat. It is the same recipe that makes Weller. The barrels were distilled in the spring and fall of 1989 at the original Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky, and aged on the lower levels there until 2002, when the family moved production to Buffalo Trace; they continued on the lower floors of Buffalo Trace's brick warehouses through 2014. To keep a whiskey this old from tipping into bitterness, the team transferred it to stainless steel tanks in 2014, halting the aging, and bottled it in 2017 at 100 proof. Eleven barrels yielded 710 hand-engraved crystal decanters.

Midnight Whiskey is an authorized retailer; every bottle is sold in its original packaging and inspected before it ships. Orders are double-boxed with protective padding and dispatched with temperature-aware handling. Delivery requires an adult signature: the recipient must be 21 or older and present valid government-issued photo ID. For how we verify and grade what we sell, see our authentication standards; for white-glove acquisition and storage, see the Vault Concierge; and for how we source and vet listings, see our editorial sourcing standards.

What is the oldest Van Winkle bourbon?

The Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year is the oldest expression ever released under the Van Winkle name, older than the Pappy 23. It was distilled in 1989, aged twenty-five years, and bottled in 2017 at 100 proof in a hand-engraved crystal decanter. Only 710 were produced.

Where was the Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year distilled?

It was distilled in 1989 at the original Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, aged there until 2002, then moved to Buffalo Trace and aged until 2014, when it was transferred to stainless steel to halt the aging. It was bottled in 2017. The whiskey is entirely Stitzel-Weller distillate.