AVB
Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
If your local store carries the Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 yo Rye look at the number on the top of the front label. If it starts with an "E" or greater (F,G,H,) then you really have an 18 yo product.
This whiskey was originally bottled at 13 years just like the label says and that first run had no letter identifier in front of the 4 numbers. To keep from re-registering the label it was kept the same while the whiskey sat continuing to age in the barrels until the next year when the "A" series was released. This was done for the next 5 years (A,B,C,D,E) until the remaining rye was tanked in stainless steel to prevent further aging. Considering that 18 yo Sazarac Rye goes for about $50-55 finding a bottle of the Van Winkle for $30 or so is a real bargain.
This whiskey was originally bottled at 13 years just like the label says and that first run had no letter identifier in front of the 4 numbers. To keep from re-registering the label it was kept the same while the whiskey sat continuing to age in the barrels until the next year when the "A" series was released. This was done for the next 5 years (A,B,C,D,E) until the remaining rye was tanked in stainless steel to prevent further aging. Considering that 18 yo Sazarac Rye goes for about $50-55 finding a bottle of the Van Winkle for $30 or so is a real bargain.
