Certain whiskey lovers will do anything for a taste of Pappy Van Winkle. It’s rare, it’s limited, and it’s a cult classic. So when a bar in the Queens neighborhood of New York City announced it scored a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 23 Year — one of the most coveted bottles in the whole Pappy line up — people were naturally excited.
Only, whoever wants a taste has to be excited enough to pay $145 for two ounces. And they better get to Queens fast, because the bar, Bowery Bay, sold out in a month last year, the owner of the bar Deni Anza told DNA Info.
Paying $145 for two ounces is hard to wrap your head around, no matter how much of a cult favorite Pappy is. For that price, you can buy around 8 ounces of silver, or a tenth of an ounce of 24 karat gold.
That’s a high price for a bottle with a suggested retail value of $269. But rarity has a tendency to jack prices up — Country Wine & Spirits is selling a bottle of 23 Year for $3,299.99. Only around 7,000 bottles of Pappy are sold from the distillery every year (except in 2015, which was an especially low yield).
Bowery Bay is also offering 12 Year for $55, 15 Year for $85, 13 Year for $65, and 10 Year for $50. But it’s the 23 Year that is the most coveted. It’s one of those drinks that when you find it, you’ve just got to have it.
Not near Queens and can’t afford $145? You can try the Pappy Finder, or just wait and hope that a flood of Pappy hits Kentucky soon.
