Van Winkle 12 Year Old Special Reserve

In a perfect world, the Van Winkles would be as ubiquitous as the Kardashians, and the Kardashians would be as obscure as the Van Winkles. Liquor stores large and small maintain waiting lists for any member of the Van Winkle family, whether it be Pappy, Old Rip, or this 12-year-old kid. Some store owners apparently feel this affords them license to charge preposterous premium prices for Winkles as of late. I was lucky enough to purchase a bottle of the 12 yo for the semi-reasonable price of $90 last fall. As of last week, the same store is now asking $200 for the lone bottle of 12 in its locked glass case. They may know better than I what their market will bear, but this verges on absurdity qua absurdity, even in the mercenary whisky world of 2013. This is good bourbon, to be sure, but it’s not $200 worth of good. Don’t equate scarcity with quality. There are many bourbons at ¼ the price or less that are far superior.

Enough editorializing. Down to the whiskey.

I consider myself a Scotch enthusiast (as opposed to expert) who enjoys bourbon as an occasional change of pace. Scotch outnumbers bourbon in my cabinet by about a four-to-one ratio, so these notes are the opinion of a Scotch guy who prefers rye-flavored to wheated bourbons. The wheated ones are usually too syrupy sweet for my palate. Give me the fruity, minty, rye type of sweetness any day.

That said, this is an exception to my rule. I actually enjoy the sweetness of the Van Winkle 12; it’s certain other components that elicit some minor gripes.

Nose: A surprising amount of alcohol for a medium-strength whiskey. I find the sweetness a bit one-dimensional: mostly caramel popcorn and little else. There are some chemical, nail-polish-y notes lurking in the shadows, although they’re not overly intrusive or unpleasant. The bold elements are decent, but the nose lacks finesse overall.

Palate: The arrival and development are exceptional. Smooth and soft, yet fairly complex. Rain-soaked wood (or what I imagine rain-soaked wood would taste like) is as prominent as the array of sweet flavors: honey, vanilla, coffee with sugar and cream, hints of chocolate and cinnamon, and more caramel popcorn. It’s at this stage that the VW 12 earns its points. The nose and finish may not wow me, but I could hold this stuff on my tongue forever.

The finish is of decent length and retains most of the good sweet components, but there’s also some bitter tea and a return of the chemical acidity at the very end. The start of the finish is much better than the finish of the finish.

I hope someday to be able to sample the elder Van Winkles, but the scarcity and/or price of the dads and granddads precludes my acquaintance with them for now. If the 12 year-old wasn’t the phenomenal experience for which I’d hoped, he seems precocious enough to have come from good stock.

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