Preston Van Winkle says this is an exciting and fun opportunity to share our bourbons with new and old friends alike in such a dynamic and terrific culinary city.
photo courtesy of MCFW
How can you attend, Pappy Hour, one of the newest and coolest events?
Music City Food + Wine Festival will randomly select ticket holders to take part in this limited-capacity experience, held in the Tasting Sessions Tent on Sunday, September 18, from 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. Attendees will be notified in advance and entrance to the tasting will require a non-transferable credential.
One of the most exciting new events and you have a chance to hang out and taste the Van Winkle family’s portfolio!
This intimate tasting will be accessible to All-In and Sunday ticket holders only, and attendees will be selected at random from a pre-registered list to experience this limited-seating tasting. All-In and Sunday ticket holders will be sent a link on Thursday, September 8, with further details on how they can register to be selected at random.
In order to receive further details for access to the Pappy Hour tasting, All-In and Sunday tickets must be purchased by 12:00 midnight CT on Wednesday, September 7, 2016. On Thursday, September 8, All-In and Sunday ticket holders will receive an email from the Festival with detailed instructions on how to register for a chance to be randomly selected for the tasting.
Music City Food + Wine Festival will randomly select ticket holders to take part in this limited-capacity experience, held in the Tasting Sessions Tent on Sunday, September 18, from 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. Attendees will be notified in advance and entrance to the tasting will require a non-transferable credential.
About the Distillery
The Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery has a four-generation history. The Van Winkle family’s involvement in the bourbon industry began in the late 1800s with Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle, Sr., who was a traveling salesman for the W.L. Weller and Sons wholesale house in Louisville, traveling around the state by horse and buggy. Pappy and a friend, Alex Farnsley, eventually bought the wholesale house and also purchased the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery, which made bourbon for Weller. They merged the two companies and became the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Their prominent brands were W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still.
In May 1935 at the age of 61, Pappy opened the newly completed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in South Louisville. He had a heavy influence on the operations there until his death at the age of 91. His son, Julian, Jr., took over operations until he was forced by stockholders to sell the distillery in 1972. The rights to all of their brands were either sold with the distillery or to other distilleries.
After selling the distillery, Julian, Jr. resurrected a pre-prohibition label, the only one to which the Van Winkles kept the rights: Old Rip Van Winkle. He used whiskey stocks from the old distillery to supply his brand. Julian Jr.’s son, Julian, III, took over in 1981 when Julian, Jr. passed away and he has continued with the Van Winkle tradition of producing the highest quality wheated bourbon available. His son, Preston, joined company in 2001.
Recently, the Van Winkles entered into a joint venture with Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY. All of the Van Winkle’s whiskey production now takes place at Buffalo Trace under the same strict guidelines the family has always followed in order to produce a superior quality product.
Aside from the rich family history, Van Winkle bourbons are special for another important reason: the recipe. All of the Van Winkle bourbons are made with corn, wheat, and barley instead of corn, rye and barley. This “wheated” recipe gives the bourbon a much softer, smoother taste and it also allows the whiskey to age more gracefully.#N
See you there!
Love this. I’ll have to look for this bourbon. Much prefer wheat bourbons to rye’s.
Hi Anne, it’s one of those very hard to get your hands on bourbons. They release limited amounts and its pretty awesome. I can’t wait for this one!