Hold onto your Pappy – the annual Van Winkle bourbon release is coming soon.

There’s good and bad Van Winkle news for 2020: Thanks to angel’s share evaporation, there will be fewer 20- and 23-year bottles available this year. That’s the bad news. The good news is that 10-, 12- and 15-year bottles will be available in similar quantities as in previous releases, and there was a higher yield of 13-year rye than in previous years.

Van Winkle whiskeys have, of course, achieved a cult-like popularity, with bourbon enthusiasts willing to beg, borrow and steal to obtain a bottle, waiting in long lines to enter lotteries and wheeling and dealing on the secondary market. A relative shortage of 20- and 23-year bottles this year will only heighten that activity.

Bottles will start appearing on shelves (well, some shelves) starting in early November. Interestingly, in a news release announcing the forthcoming release, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery and Buffalo Trace representatives encouraged consumers to beware of counterfeits and to report retailers who are price-gouging on the products.

“We are committed to releasing quality whiskey at a reasonable cost and we hope retailers will honor what we suggest as a fair retail price,” Julian Van Winkle, distillery president, said in the news release, condemning retailers that drive up prices far above MSRP.

Kris Comstock, senior marketing director at Buffalo Trace Distillery warned consumers to be cautious when buying Van Winkle products from individuals through channels like Craigslist or Facebook groups, and encouraged consumers to report price-gouging retailers to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau or their state attorney general’s office.

Suggested retail pricing from Van Winkle is as follows:

• $69.99 – Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon 10 Year Old 107 proof
• $79.99 – Old Rip Van Winkle Special Reserve Bourbon 12 Year Old
• $119.99 – Old Rip Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year Old
• $119.99 – Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 15 Year Old
• $199.99 – Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 20 Year Old
• $299.99 – Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon 23 Year Old