Heaven Hill distillery has a rich bourbon history. Currently, they’re the largest family-owned distillery in the United States and the second largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon in the world (I’m still trying to work my way up the list). The distillery was founded in 1935 by the Shapira family with Master Distiller Joseph Beam (yes, his cousin is Jim).
If you’ve ever read the label on any of the Weller bottles you’ll notice they all include the tagline “The Original Wheated Bourbon”. While a different wheated bourbon has claimed most of the lime light recently the Weller brand is truly the original wheated bourbon. You may have also noticed that Weller bourbon line, specifically W.L. Weller 12 year, has become increasingly harder to find recently. This is probably due to a mixture of factors including the popularity of Pappy Van Winkle (a wheated bourbon), popularity of bourbon in general and the fact that it’s excellent bourbon for under $30.
Typically, I write reviews on this site as a way to help readers make better decisions on what to buy. I review a lot of bourbons and whiskies on my MyWhiskey page but only a select few make it to the blog. Because of this I have not reviewed any of the Pappy Van Winkles on the blog. My reasoning, no one is on the fence of whether or not to buy Pappy Van Winkle. People don’t wait in line for hours; drive hundreds of miles and then google “Pappy Van Winkle reviews” to decide whether or not to buy. However, because allocations are so slim stores are moving to lottery systems or only allowing one bottle per customer. Because of this I decided it was time to post my review.
The Sazerac 6 Year Rye Whiskey or “baby Saz” is distilled and bottled by the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It’s known as baby Saz because of its famed older brother and member of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, Sazerac 18. While current bottling’s of Sazerac 18 are not distilled by Buffalo Trace (yet) the mashbills are very similar if not exact. The rye mashbill used in baby Saz is approximately 51% rye, 39% corn and 10% malt.
Disclaimer: The resale of alcohol is illegal, without proper license, and I am in no way encouraging it. I also have no problems with the current market, buyers, sellers or prices. This article is just an observation of a free market at work which I find fascinating.
Edit: The owner of bottle spot read the article and emailed me this
The commemorative bottling of Elmer T. Lee Bourbon will start arriving in stores
this April. Quantities of this one-time offering are very limited. Suggested retail pricing
is $34.99. Production of the standard Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon will continue
as barrels come of age and are deemed worthy of Elmer and his legacy.
Just getting started drinking bourbon or want to improve your tasting skills? Check out this post.
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New to bourbon and whiskey? Start by trying out these five bourbons.
Check out these bourbon hacks to try high end bourbons without breaking the bank
There are several lists of “Pappy Van Winkle Substitutes” floating around. However, some of them are full of errors while others are just a list of several popular bourbons/ryes. I decided to put together a list of a few bourbons that will make a decent substitute for Pappy Van Winkle as well as include the reasoning for why they will be a good substitute. Technically, Pappy is only the 15, 20 & 23 year. The 10, 12 (Lot B) and rye are Old Rip Van Winkle. I use the terms interchangeably since most people just want “pappy” whether it’s 10, 12, 15, etc.
We have already covered the popularity of Pappy Van Winkle on this blog. However, if you’re not familiar with it Pappy Van Winkle if one of the most sought after and hard to find Bourbons around. Most stores have waiting lists a mile long for one bottle and Pappy Van winkle bottles are selling for 10X the retail price on the secondary market. What if you want to drink Pappy without camping outside a liquor store or spending $1,000 for a bottle? I have a solution. No, I don’t have some secret way of getting a bottle and I don’t have any Pappy Van Winkle for sale. I just choose to drink a Pappy Van Winkle alternative which I call “Poor Man’s Pappy”.
The aging process is what makes Bourbon Bourbon. Not only taste wise but legally. In honor of my recent post “Bourbon Aging Explained” I decided to give home aging a try. Below are instructions for what I did. I intend to let this age for at least three months before I ever drink more than small sips to taste. Whiskey that is aged in small barrels has a tendency to get an overpowering oak taste so I wouldn’t suggest letting it age any longer than one year. However, there is no reason to throw out Whiskey so let it age as long as you would like.