Pappy Van Winkle is the family of wheated bourbons from the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, named for Julian P. "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. and made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky since 2002. This page gathers the full annual lineup — Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year, Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year, the 13-year Family Reserve Rye, and the Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 15, 20 and 23 Year — with each release linked to its own page and verified details.
- Named for Julian P. "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. (1874–1965), who joined W.L. Weller & Sons as a traveling salesman in 1893.
- Pappy opened the Stitzel-Weller Distillery on Kentucky Derby Day, 1935 — the house that built its name on wheated bourbon.
- Wheated recipe: corn, wheat and barley (wheat in place of rye), which the family credits with a softer character and graceful long aging.
- Family-run today by Julian Van Winkle III and his son Preston, under the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery name.
- Since a 2002 joint venture, all Van Winkle whiskey is distilled and bottled by Sazerac at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.
- Released in small annual quantities each fall; among the most sought-after and tightly allocated American whiskeys.
- Per-release proof, bottle size and other specifics are confirmed on each product page.
The family's bourbon roots run to the late 1800s. After Prohibition, Pappy and his partners founded Stitzel-Weller, opening the distillery on Derby Day 1935 and committing to a wheated recipe. His son Julian Jr. led the company until the distillery was sold in 1972, then revived the pre-Prohibition Old Rip Van Winkle label from older stocks. Julian III took over in 1981 and launched the Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve line — the 20-year came first and earned a landmark score at the 1996 Beverage Testing Institute that helped define the brand. Preston Van Winkle joined in 2001.
Van Winkle bourbons replace rye with wheat as the secondary grain — corn, wheat and barley — a recipe Pappy favored at Stitzel-Weller and one the family credits with graceful aging over long maturities. Since 2002 the whiskey has been distilled and bottled at Buffalo Trace, which already produced the wheated Weller bourbons, reuniting the two families of wheated whiskey under one roof. The lineup also carries a wheated-house exception: a 13-year rye.
The Expressions
| Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year | Kentucky straight bourbon · 10 yr · by allocation |
| The Special Reserve "Lot B" 12-year | Kentucky straight bourbon · 12 yr |
| The 13-year Family Reserve Rye | Kentucky straight rye · 13 yr |
| The 15-year Pappy Family Reserve | Kentucky straight bourbon · 15 yr |
| Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year | Kentucky straight bourbon · 20 yr · by allocation |
| Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year | Kentucky straight bourbon · 23 yr · by allocation |
The 10-, 20- and 23-Year expressions complete the annual six-bottle Collection; they arrive by allocation and aren't currently in the vault. Browse our rare and allocated vault and the wheated Weller family it's reunited with.
Collector Note
Van Winkle's standing as a collectible rests on scarcity and age: the bourbons are released in small annual batches, the older Pappy expressions carry 15-, 20- and 23-year maturities, and demand far outstrips supply. On the secondary market, fill level, label condition and an intact seal carry real weight — and authentication matters, because few names are counterfeited as often.
Production Methodology
Van Winkle whiskey is made on Pappy's wheated mash bill — corn, wheat and barley — with a separate 13-year rye in the range. Since the 2002 joint venture, distillation, aging and bottling take place at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Maturation runs long, from ten years to more than two decades for the top Pappy expressions. Proof, bottle size, and the precise makeup of older stocks — a point of ongoing debate among enthusiasts — vary by release and are documented, and verified, on each bottle's page.
Authentication & Vault Preservation
Every Van Winkle bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authorized, authentic retailer, vault-stored and insured, shipped with protective handling and age-verified 21-and-over signature on delivery, and authenticated by our concierge before it ships. For the details, see how we verify every bottle, our vault storage and concierge, and the sourcing standards we publish.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pappy Van Winkle, and who makes it?
Pappy Van Winkle is the family of wheated bourbons from the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, named for Julian P. "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. (1874–1965). Since a 2002 joint venture, the Van Winkle whiskeys have been distilled and bottled by Sazerac at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, using Pappy's wheated recipe of corn, wheat and barley.
What bottles are in the Van Winkle lineup?
The annual Van Winkle Collection has six expressions: Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year, Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year (Lot B), Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year, and Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve at 15, 20 and 23 years. Proof, bottle size and other specifics vary by release and are confirmed on each product page.
