Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old Review | The Daily Pour

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Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old spirit image
94Excellent

Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year Old

Bourbon Buffalo Trace Van Winkle
  • Distiller

    Buffalo Trace

  • Bottler

    Buffalo Trace

  • ABV

    45.2%

  • Age

    20 Years

  • Price $200+

This is the coveted 20yr entry in the Pappy Van Winkle line of bottlings under the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery banner, produced at Buffalo Trace. It's been some time since I had this, and it's always refreshing to try a different release year. This review will wrap up the Pappy side of my ongoing Pappy vs Antique Collection series thats slowly rolling out as I march towards 1600 reviews, and I'm looking forward to it. Stock image from BT. Let's dive in.

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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 100
  • The Whiskey Reviewer
  • By Richard Thomas
  • The flavor of the bourbon is soft and delicious, retaining the sweetness and woodiness from the scent
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • Drinkhacker
  • By Rob Theakston
  • A dry finish is too quick for its own good, but still pretty spectacular.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 95
  • WhiskyCast
  • By Mark Gillespie
  • This is one of the most desired and hardest to find Bourbons in the world — so much so that someone stole $25,000 worth of Pappy 20 from inside a locked warehouse at Buffalo Trace in the fall of 2013 – a crime that remains unsolved.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 92
  • Distiller
  • By Rob Morton
  • Sweet and spicy notes of cinnamon, raisins, brownies, vanilla, oak, and maple are found on the nose.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 99
  • The Whiskey Wash
  • By Margarett Waterbury
  • This was a grand slam. Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old tastes like a perfectly made dessert, hitting all the major flavor categories – bitter, sweet, savory, sour.
  • Read Full Review
  • Raided Score: 85
  • The Daily Pour
  • By t8ke
  • Overall, this is pretty darn good. I like it better than the 23yr, but not as much as the 15yr. The oak is just a bit too heavy handed here. If that finish were buttoned up a little better, this could easily go higher like the 15yr release. The palate is really nice, and hits all those dessert notes that I love to see in a bourbon with a higher age statement.
  • Read Full Review

Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Nose:

    Leather and pepper on the nose first before a hit of tannins and some oak. Cherry, vanilla, a hint of pepper and some cocoa. The tannins are heavy on the nose but not dominating, and I'm really enjoying that bright cherry note.

  • Taste:

    Medium mouth feel, though it coats the palate nicely. Not too rich, but plenty going on. Vanilla bean, warm toffee and caramel, some cherry. All the hallmark notes of a nice wheater here, and they carry surprisingly well for the lower proof. On the back palate the oak really storms in, starting to dry out things and wisp away some of that sweet dessert flavor.

  • Finish:

    Long long finish, but really oaky, tannic and dry. It's a bit too oaky here for me, and drinks like a big Cali cab leaving things bone dry as they pack up and move on.

  • Overall:

    Overall, this is pretty darn good. I like it better than the 23yr, but not as much as the 15yr. The oak is just a bit too heavy handed here. If that finish were buttoned up a little better, this could easily go higher like the 15yr release. The palate is really nice, and hits all those dessert notes that I love to see in a bourbon with a higher age statement.

  • Score:

    85

  • Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.

  • By t8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources