Mark Megahan
A full barrel of Pappy Van Winkle is up for auction and that’s only the beginning. The Van Winkle Family has a one-of-a-kind offering which has unicorn hunters rushing to get a piece of the action. There are two ways to score, an auction and a lottery. Both benefit those displaced by the California wildfires.
Pappy Van Winkle alert
If you chase unicorn whiskey on a limited budget, there’s an affordable way to score rare Pappy Van Winkle. For those who don’t mind shelling out big bucks there’s a whole barrel available. It’s an elite man cave doomsday bunker essential.
There won’t be any unicorns to hunt after the zombie apocalypse. As related by Jake Wenz, president and CEO of Sazerac, “the fires have caused immense destruction, and the toll on the Los Angeles community is profound.”
Sazerac, “in partnership with the Van Winkle Family, is auctioning off Pappy Van Winkle rarities for a charity program to raise funds for those affected by the California wildfires.” The auction features three elite lots.
One is “a full set of the Pappy Van Winkle Collection.” The second item up for bidding is a single bottle of Eagle Rare 25.
The thing that has aficionados doing cartwheels is a full barrel of Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year. They wanted to “continue their much-needed support of the California community during this difficult time.” The “most coveted item on the esteemed list is certainly the single barrel of Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old, available for the first time since Sazerac began its relationship with the Van Winkle Family.”
At last word, bidding was up to $500,000. “Taken from the heart of Buffalo Trace’s rickhouse, the barrel will be packaged into about 125 bottles. The winning bidder will also receive the empty barrel as a keepsake.”
Two sweepstakes chances
For those of us on the more realistic end of the budget spectrum, “Sazerac is holding two additional sweepstakes.” One is for a chance at a “bottle of Buffalo Trace Distillery’s ultra-rare Eagle Rare 25.” That’s an elusive unicorn.
“Aged for a quarter of a century in wood, this is Eagle Rare’s oldest expression ever and the first bourbon aged in Warehouse P, a state-of-the-art warehouse designed to test whiskey aging limits.”
The second sweepstakes winner scores “the entire Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Collection.” Getting your hands on even one of the six bottles is extremely tricky.
“This rare collection, that would be a treasure in any home bar, features Old Rip Van Winkle 10-Year, Pappy Van Winkle 12-Year, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13-Year, Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year, Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year, and Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year.”
A $50 donation “made through Sazerac Gives Back gets you one entry for the drawing of your choice.” You can buy as many tickets as you can afford.
“There is no limit to the number of entries a person can purchase.” Pappy chasers need to move fast. “All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, February 23.“
