Let's be real for a second. If you’re holding a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23, you’re basically holding a liquid Rolex that you can accidentally drop and shatter on the kitchen floor. It’s stressful. It’s also arguably the most famous bourbon on the planet, though "famous" feels like an understatement. It’s a ghost. A legend. A reason for grown men to camp out in liquor store parking lots at 4:00 AM like they’re waiting for Coachella tickets.
But here is the thing about the 23-year-old expression: it is polarizing as hell.
Most people see the red bag and the gold wax and assume it’s the best thing they will ever taste. It’s the oldest in the lineup. It’s the most expensive. Naturally, it must be the "best," right? Not necessarily. In the bourbon world, age isn't always a linear path to perfection. Sometimes, it’s a path to a mouthful of wood. Pappy Van Winkle 23 is the ultimate test of whether you actually like bourbon or if you just like owning things that other people can’t have.
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The Stitzel-Weller Ghost and the Juice Inside
To understand why people pay five figures for this stuff on the secondary market, you have to look at the history, which is messy. Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. didn't just make whiskey; he ran the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which opened on Derby Day in 1935. They became famous for "wheated" bourbon. Most bourbons use rye as the secondary grain, which gives it a spicy, peppery kick. Stitzel-Weller swapped that rye for wheat.
The result? It’s smoother. Sweeter. Like drinking velvet.
When Stitzel-Weller closed in 1992, the family (led by Julian Van Winkle III) had to find a new home for their barrels. For a long time, the Pappy Van Winkle 23 you bought was "honey hole" juice—the absolute best barrels culled from the old Stitzel-Weller stock. Today, the production happens at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. Is it the same? Purists will argue about this until they’re blue in the face.
The Buffalo Trace era uses the same recipe—the "wheated" mash bill—but the environment is different. The warehouse floors are different. The air is different. Yet, the 23 remains the pinnacle of the pyramid. It sits in those charred oak barrels for nearly a quarter of a century. In Kentucky’s climate, that is a lifetime. The "Angel’s Share"—the amount of whiskey that evaporates through the wood—is massive over 23 years. You lose more than half the barrel. What’s left is concentrated, intense, and incredibly rare.
Is Pappy Van Winkle 23 Actually Too Old?
This is the dirty little secret that bourbon nerds whisper at bars.
Bourbon isn't like Scotch. Scotch thrives in the cool, damp climate of Scotland, where it can age for 40 or 50 years without becoming a total oak bomb. Kentucky is a different beast. The summers are scorching. The winters are freezing. The wood expands and contracts, sucking the whiskey in and spitting it out. After 23 years, the wood has a lot to say.
For some, Pappy Van Winkle 23 is a masterpiece of dark chocolate, cherry, and heavy tobacco. For others, it tastes like licking a pencil.
The 15-year-old expression is actually the one most "experts" prefer. It hits that sweet spot where the fruit and the oak are in perfect balance. By the time you get to the 23, the oak is winning the fight. You get these incredibly deep notes of maple syrup, toasted nuts, and leather. Honestly, it’s a "mood" whiskey. You don't drink this while watching a football game. You drink it when you want to sit by a fireplace and contemplate your life choices.
The Secondary Market Madness
If you find a bottle of Pappy 23 at the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), you should probably go buy a lottery ticket immediately. The MSRP is roughly $300 to $350. That sounds expensive until you look at what happens five minutes after it leaves the store.
On the secondary market? You’re looking at $5,000. $6,000. Sometimes more.
Why? Because Buffalo Trace only releases a tiny amount every autumn. It’s the "Pappy Van Winkle Lottery." Total Wine, Binny's, and local mom-and-pop shops get a handful of bottles, and thousands of people vie for them. It’s a supply and demand nightmare. Because the 23-year-old has the highest prestige, it’s the one that collectors hunt the most. It has become a Veblen good—a product where the high price actually increases the demand.
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How to Actually Taste It Without Spending Your Mortgage
Don’t buy a bottle. Seriously. Unless you have "screw you" money, buying a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23 on the secondary market is a bad investment for your palate. You can find high-end whiskey bars in cities like Louisville, Chicago, or New York that have it on the shelf.
Expect to pay $150 to $300 for a two-ounce pour.
That sounds insane, right? But think about it. It’s better to spend $200 to realize you actually prefer the 12-year "Lot B" than to spend $5,000 on a bottle you find too "woody."
When you do taste it, don't put it on ice. Please. You’ll kill the nuances. If it’s too strong—it’s bottled at 95.6 proof, which is relatively mellow for its age—add exactly three drops of room-temperature water. It opens up the nose. You’ll start smelling things like dried hibiscus, dark cocoa, and almost a resinous pine. It’s complex. It’s weird. It’s Pappy.
The Counterfeit Problem
Because of the astronomical prices, Pappy Van Winkle 23 is the most counterfeited bourbon in the world. Scammers will take an empty bottle (which sells for $500 on eBay just for the glass!), fill it with a cheaper wheated bourbon like Weller 12, and reseal it with fake wax.
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If a deal looks too good to be true on a Facebook group or a "dusty" auction site, it is.
Real Pappy has very specific markers. The laser-etched codes on the glass, the specific tint of the gold wax, the clarity of the printing on the label. If you aren't buying from a licensed, reputable retailer, you’re basically gambling. Most people who buy fake Pappy don't even know it's fake because they’ve never tasted the real thing. They drink the "Weller-in-a-Pappy-bottle" and tell their friends it’s the best thing they’ve ever had.
What to Do Next if You Want a Taste
If you're serious about hunting Pappy Van Winkle 23, stop looking for "deals." Focus on relationships.
First, find a local liquor store that isn't a massive chain. Spend money there year-round. Buy your wine there. Buy your gin there. Ask about their "allocated" list. Most stores save their Pappy for their best customers—the ones who support the business when it isn't Pappy season.
Second, consider the alternatives. If you want the "Pappy profile" without the Pappy price, look for Weller 12 Year or Weller Full Proof. It’s the same distillery, the same recipe, and often very similar aging conditions. It’s not the 23, but your bank account will thank you.
Lastly, if you do get a pour of the 23, take your time. This whiskey spent more than two decades in a dark warehouse in Kentucky waiting for you. Don't shoot it. Let it sit in the glass for 20 minutes before you even take a sip. Let the air get to it. The 23 is a slow-motion experience. It’s about the finish—that lingering, spicy, sweet, oaky ghost that stays on your tongue for ten minutes after you’ve swallowed. That's what you're paying for.
Whether it's worth the hype is up to you, but there's no denying that Pappy 23 is the undisputed king of the bourbon shelf, for better or worse.