No Van Winkle Rye This Year
Sazerac announced its annual Pappy Van Winkle releases today, but said 2017 will have no rye whiskey for the brand. The company did say that its wheated bourbons garnered greater yields.
The company blamed a barrel gap in rye inventory, saying its Van Winkle rye barrels were 12-years-old vs. the 13-year mark expected in the Van Winkle line.
For the rest, suggested retail prices are as follows (These prices are rarely followed in the market):
“Unfortunately we do not control the pricing retailers charge, so many retailers mark it up, even though we ask them not to,” said Julian Van Winkle, president, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, in a press release. “We have not raised prices and do not intend to do so drastically in the future. We are committed to our quality and our pricing and hope retailers will honor what we suggest as retail pricing.”
Van Winkle works in partnership with Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace Distillery.
This year’s release comes with a caveat from Buffalo Trace: Don’t buy on the secondary market. “Some bottles they are selling might be counterfeit, filled with lesser whiskey, or worse, something that’s not even whiskey and potentially dangerous,” Comstock said in the press release. “At the bare minimum, it’s illegal to buy and resell whiskey if you are not a licensed retailer, and we’re not afraid to take action if we find out.”
Bottles hit stores in November, the company said.
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