Pappy Van Winkle 10 Year

Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year is the entry point to the Van Winkle family of bourbons — a wheated Kentucky straight bourbon aged a full decade and bottled at 107 proof, drawing from the same recipe that Pappy Van Winkle himself championed throughout his career.

Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr. began his career at W.L. Weller & Sons as a traveling whiskey salesman in the early 1900s, eventually rising to President of the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville. He built his reputation on the wheated bourbon recipe — substituting wheat for rye as the secondary grain — which produced a softer, richer character than the high-rye bourbons that dominated the market. When the family sold Stitzel-Weller in 1972, his son Julian Jr. continued bottling under the Old Rip Van Winkle label as a side venture, preserving the recipe. Pappy Van Winkle 10 Year .

Pappy Van Winkle 10 Year

Julian Van Winkle III took over the business in 1981 at 32 years old, and spent two decades building the brand on the strength of the bourbon itself. When Buffalo Trace acquired the W.L. Weller label in 1999 and approached Julian III about a production partnership, the transition was straightforward — Buffalo Trace had been producing wheated bourbon using nearly the same recipe. As of 2002, Buffalo Trace has produced all Van Winkle bourbons using Pappy’s original wheated recipe.

The 10 Year is bottled at 107 proof with only a small addition of Kentucky limestone water at bottling — closer to barrel proof than most standard releases — producing a bourbon of notable intensity and richness for its age. Pappy Van Winkle 10 Year .

Tasting Notes

Nose: Sweet vanilla, caramel, and pecan with warm oak. Palate: Rich and full — robust wheat character, dried cherry, caramel, and well-integrated oak at 107 proof. Finish: Long and warming, with smoky wheat, dried fruit, spice, and oak tannins persisting. Pappy Van Winkle 10 Year

Specs

Distillery: Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, Kentucky. Style: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Mashbill: Wheated bourbon recipe. Age: 10 years. Proof: 107 (53.5% ABV). Size: 750ml.

Browse the full Pappy Van Winkle collection at Wooden Cork, including Lot B 12 Year, Family Reserve 15, 20, and 23 Year expressions.