Unicorn Bottles

Of the casks aging quietly in Suntory's cellars, Mizunara casks are the most rare, numbering only a few among thousands. Those whiskies aged for over 18 years within these legendary casks are all the more precious. Our blenders have carefully selected only the finest whiskies from this prized collection, and through their unparalleled craftsmanship have created the Yamazaki Mizunara. Please enjoy its complex, Uniquely Japanese profile, and long-lingering finish.

Kentucky might be on the fringe of “Tornado Alley,” but even so, those powerful storms seem to be a fixture of life in the Bluegrass. Kentuckians received a fairly vicious reminder of that fact in early March 2012, when twisters tore through the state and left almost two dozen dead. Yet sometimes a tornado strike isn’t all bad, as Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. “Tornado Survivor” bourbon whiskey testifies to. The Colonel E.H. Taylor label is basically a series of Buffalo Trace limited editions (past installments include a single barrel and a 19th century-style sour mash), named for the man who founded the Old Taylor Distillery in 1887 and is known to some as the “father of the modern bourbon industry.” 24,000 barrels of bourbon destined for a Colonel E.H. Taylor bottling were aging in Taylor’s own Warehouse C (dating to 1881) when a tornado struck the Buffalo Trace property in 2006, ripping both it and another empty bourbon warehouse to pieces. The Taylor warehouse lost its roof and some of its walls, and while the barrels emerged from the disaster unscathed, they went on to an almost unique aging experience, as they received the full brunt of the Kentucky summer while the warehouse was painstakingly rebuilt around them. It is hard to understate just how thoroughly “cooked” the bourbon was that summer. I have commented in the past on how important the southern summer heat is to bourbon’s aging vis-à-vis the whiskey’s cousins in Scotland and Ireland, but direct exposure to the sweltering summer climate produced extreme results. The ultimate evaporation rate for the “Tornado Surviving Bourbon,” as Buffalo Trace calls it, was more than doubled to an extreme “angel’s share”

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The first release of Van Winkle Family Rye that was distilled at the Medley distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1998 that was for Japanese export only. The first US release was not until 1999. After 1998, all Van Winkle Reserve Rye bottle numbers were preceded with a letter to signify they were US releases. This particular rye was bottled in 1998, which is unique, as that was a period when Van Winkle bottled in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, before they moved their operations to Frankfort, KY in 2002. Additionally this is a rare "green glass" bottle, as Van Winkle's last year of using handmade green glass for their bottles was 1999.

An incredibly rare offering from the Van Winkle family reserve. This was bottled in 1990 by Julian Van Winkle III. His father, Julian II, had retained an office at the old Stitzel-Weller distillery following his forced sale of it in the 1970s, but this hospitality was not extended to his son, who had to buy Hoffman distillery in 1983, re-naming it Old Commonwealth. There he bottled much of the best-regarded whiskey in America, including Nathan Stone's, Very Olde St. Nick, the A.H. Hirsch Reserve, and this, the Van Winkle Family Reserve. It is believed this Van Winkle family reserve bourbon was sourced from Boone distillery, where it was barreled in 1974. It was bottled twice: this one in 1990, and the next one at 17 years old in 1991. Both were intended for the Japanese market, who were at the time more willing to pay premium prices for well-aged bourbon. Van Winkle III continued to bottle at Old Commonwealth until 2002, when thinning stocks necessitated an agreement with the Sazerac company, who warehoused his remaining barrels, and produced limited quantities of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve on an annual basis until it finally ran out. It is now distilled at Buffalo Trace using Pappy's old recipe. These original bottles of Boone distilled Van Winkle reserves are incredibly rare and sought after in equal measure. Fun fact: Van Winkle has stated that he "got away" with using red wax here as Maker's Mark only held the trademark in the US.

In 1893, when he was 18 years old, Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. began working as a salesman for the liquor wholesaler, W.L. Weller & Sons. Fifteen years later, he and another Weller salesman bought the firm. In 1910 they acquired the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, which had started as a sour mash whiskey distillery in 1872.

The Stitzel Distillery supplied much of the whiskey sold by the Weller wholesale firm. The consolidation coincided with prohibition, during which time the Stitzel-Weller firm was licensed by the government to produce whiskey for medicinal purposes. One of their labels that was introduced on the market just before prohibition was Old Rip Van Winkle. After prohibition, the brand was not reintroduced until after 1972 when the Stitzel-Weller distillery and its current brand names (including W. L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still) were sold to other companies.The only brand name the Van Winkle family had kept the rights to was the pre-prohibition brand Old Rip Van Winkle.

The Stitzel-Weller Distillery was opened on the day of the Kentucky Derby in 1935, just outside Louisville in Shively, Kentucky. At the time of his death in 1965 at the age of 89, Pappy Van Winkle was the oldest active distiller in the nation. A photo of him lighting a cigar graces the bottle's label.

Sometime after the Stitzel-Weller distillery was sold in 1972, Julian Van Winkle, Jr. resurrected the pre-prohibition Old Rip Van Winkle brand and initially used old whiskey stocks from the distillery for its bottlings. Julian Jr. died in 1981 and Julian Van Winkle, III (Pappy's grandson) took over the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery company.

After the initial sale in 1972, the Stitzel-Weller distillery was eventually closed completely in 1991.

Since 2002, the Van Winkle brands have been distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at the Buffalo Trace Distillery as a joint venture with the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery company.

In 2013, Julian Preston Van Winkle III, said the 2013 bottlings of the 23-year brand expression "may be the last of its kind", since at that point there was very little left of the aging stock from the Stitzel-Weller distillery (although he said the brand would not be discontinued). The makers say that they do not want to boost production, as there is considerable long-term risk, and they do not want to be left holding copious quantities of unsaleable bourbon should tastes, fashions or circumstances change.

An incredibly rare offering from the Van Winkle family reserve. This was bottled in 1991 by Julian Van Winkle III. His father, Julian II, had retained an office at the old Stitzel-Weller distillery following his forced sale of it in the 1970s, but this hospitality was not extended to his son, who had to buy Hoffman distillery in 1983, re-naming it Old Commonwealth. There he bottled much of the best-regarded whiskey in America, including Nathan Stone's, Very Olde St. Nick, the A.H. Hirsch Reserve, and this, the Van Winkle Family Reserve. It is believed this Van Winkle family reserve bourbon was sourced from Boone distillery, where it was barreled in 1974. It was bottled twice: this one in 1991, and first at 16 years old in 1990. Both were intended for the Japanese market, who were at the time more willing to pay premium prices for well-aged bourbon. Van Winkle III continued to bottle at Old Commonwealth until 2002, when thinning stocks necessitated an agreement with the Sazerac company, who warehoused his remaining barrels, and produced limited quantities of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve on an annual basis until it finally ran out. It is now distilled at Buffalo Trace using Pappy's old recipe. These original bottles of Boone distilled Van Winkle reserves are incredibly rare and sought after in equal measure. Fun fact: Van Winkle has stated that he "got away" with using red wax here as Maker's Mark only held the trademark in the US.

This is a very rare bottling of a single barrel pappy van winkle 15 year selected and bottled for Civic Center Liquor in San Francisco back in 2004.  Unlike the current releases of pappy van winkle 15 year which contain a wheated bourbon recipe distilled by Buffalo Trace, this limited bottling was from a hand selected private cask of the legendary Stitzel-Weller wheated bourbon, aged at least 15 years and bottled at 107pf.

**This is the 2020 release**

Michter’s 25 Year Old Bourbon comes from the era when Michter’s was still buying its whiskey from outside sources. However, Magliocco says, “We picked the style we wanted to make ourselves.” And, indeed, its bold flavor is immediately recognizable as Michter’s. Bottled at a barrel strength, it comes on a little tannic, but the black pepper and oaky notes quickly give way to dark fruit, brown sugar, and caramel. Dark chocolate makes an appearance on the back of the tongue, followed by a long, dry tobacco and leather finish. Bourbons that can age in wood for a quarter-century and still retain so much complexity are few and far between.

*May be a different batch/bottle number*

Predominant oak stands out but not overpowering as you would expect in a 25-year old bourbon. Wheated bourbons typically age well, and this ORVW follows suit. The sweet sugars hold up and provide an excellent balance and flavor complexity to the oak forward. The proof point is just right with this expression. It’s a straight down the middle, aged wheated bourbon that is very nice.

Widely considered some of the best rye that has ever been produced, this Michter's 25 year rye from 2014 is a must have for all collectors and consumers.  This particular bottle was a rare export to Taiwan and actually reflects native language on the back of the bottle.  These are exceedingly valuable to collectors as the rarity of such an incredible bottle into Taiwan makes them much more difficult to find than the American releases.

This is the first limited edition of the Clase Azul Master Artisans collection. 

This creation is the epitome of our artisanal tradition since it combines the experience of our Master Distiller, Viridiana Tinoco, with the virtuosity of Ángel Santos, one of the most influential Mexican artisans of our time.

The striking artwork on the handcrafted decanter was inspired by the beauty of long-plumed pheasants. These birds symbolize light, prosperity, the sun, and wealth in various cultures. The blue color used for these illustrations represents the sky, air, and water. 

The decanter also portrays five and six-petalled flowers–symbols that are traditionally used in artisanal clay techniques in Tonalá, a small town in Jalisco renowned as the “cradle of ceramics” in Mexico.

Our Master Distiller, Viridiana Tinoco, created the longest aged blend in Clase Azul’s history.

This extraordinary 8-year-old extra añejo tequila began its journey in casks previously used for American whiskey, where it was aged for 64 months. For the following 41 months of aging the tequila was distributed into three different types of sherry casks: amontillado, oloroso, and pedro ximénez, resulting in a blend with incomparable complexity.

This is an extremely rare version of Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old bourbon.  This particular expression was bottled back in 2006, meaning it was distilled no later than 1986 and contains the famous Stitzel-Weller distillate.  This is a hand selected single barrel selected for Morrell & Company out of New York.  Each bottle was hand numbered and labeled for the original purchaser of the bottle.  A 20 year Stitzel Weller distilled single barrel with the pappy van winkle branding is truly a unicorn and must have for anyone looking to have something special for their collection.

From Michter's:

While we regularly sample all our Michter’s barrels to see how our whiskey is aging, we pay even extra special attention to our barrels once they are over 17 years old. At Michter’s we consider 17 to 20 years the “Fork In The Road Point” when certain barrels of whiskey can achieve an extraordinary level of quality. It is these particular barrels that our Master Distiller Dan McKee personally selects for our very limited bottling of Michter’s 20 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

*This is the 2019 Bottling*

Vintage Bourbon 17 Year Old Bourbon Whiskey

Hairline crack in the wax - please see photo

There is a possibility of minor leaking during transit