The whiskey was distilled in the spring and fall of 1989 to the Van Winkle wheated mash bill, wheat standing in for rye alongside corn and malted barley; Buffalo Trace does not publish the ratio, and no figure is asserted here. Eleven barrels were laid down on the lower levels of a metal-clad warehouse built in 1935 at the family distillery in Shively, Kentucky, where cooler, steadier conditions slow the wood. In 2002, when the Van Winkle family entered its joint venture with Buffalo Trace, the barrels moved roughly sixty miles east to Frankfort and continued for another twelve years on the lower floors of Buffalo Trace's brick warehouses. In 2014, at twenty-five years in wood, the team dumped the barrels into stainless steel tanks to halt the aging and hold the profile; the whiskey stayed in steel until it was bottled in 2017 at 100 proof. The eleven barrels produced 710 bottles, which began shipping in April of that year.

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.

How many bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle 25 exist?

710. Eleven barrels went into the release, and they yielded 710 bottles of 750 mL, each one a Glencairn Crystal Studio decanter that is engraved, individually numbered and finished with a silver stopper.

What proof is the Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year?

100 proof, or 50% ABV. It carries a 25-year age statement: the whiskey was distilled in 1989 and moved out of wood and into stainless steel tanks in 2014, at twenty-five years, before being bottled in 2017.

When was Old Rip Van Winkle 25 released?

It was bottled in 2017 and began shipping in April of that year, as a one-time release of 710 bottles. It remains the oldest bottling the Van Winkle family has put out.