EDITOR'S NOTE: Pappy Van Winkle (being my favorite bourbon and rye whiskies) has an extremely limited distribution--mostly within a small radius from the distillery in Kentucky--has a tremendous following, made moreso by it's repeated appearance in the FX Network's hit series Justified. In most other places, the waiting list for a bottle is five to ten years deep and costs in the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars. That makes this desirable cigar from Drew Estates even more desirable, and from the look of it, available in very limited quantities.

Drew Estate announces the formal release of Pappy Van Winkle “TRADITION”. This extremely limited supply brand will be displayed in Drew Estate’s booth (Booth #2608) at the IPCPR Convention and Tradeshow, held July 10-14, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition will be exclusively available for sale through Drew Diplomat Retailers.

From Kentucky, Julian Van Winkle President of Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, “I was invited to Cigar Aficionado’s A Night to Remember by Jonathan Drew in 2016 and was presented with a non-banded, wooden box of cigars with white bands on it that just read “Exclusively for my Friend Julian by Willy Herrera Sincerely Jonathan Drew”.  I loved this blend because of its balance, shortly thereafter, my family and I visited La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Nicaragua and I smoked the same blend most of the trip. By the end, I knew this would be the Pappy Van Winkle Tradition.”

Drew Estate is honored to represent the Van Winkle Family with an ultra-premium cigar that reinforces the legacy for one of America’s true living icons, Julian Van Winkle. The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition features an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper, Indonesian Binder and aged fillers from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. From his Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew President and Founder of Drew Estate notes, “The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition features an ultra-complex combination of extensively aged fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic that are blanketed with a flawless Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper. Availability is limited. I am humbled to extend the Drew and Van Winkle friendship, time tested honor, and craftsmanship to Drew Diplomat Humidors across the United States.”

The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition features the following expressions:

• Coronita (4 x 46) MSRP $146.00/10ct Box
• Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54) MSRP $216.00/10ct Box
• Toro (6 x 50) MSRP $236.00/10ct Box
• Belicoso Fino (5 x 50) MSRP $246.00/10ct Box
• Churchill (7 x 48) MSRP $236.00 / 10ct Box Exclusively available at Drew Diplomat Spirits Retailers
• Lonsdale (6.5 x 44) (Not for Sale) / 10ct Box Exclusively at Drew Diplomat Rewards Events in October, November and December 2017
• Corona (5.5 x 44) MSRP (Not for Sale) / 10ct Box  Exclusively available from Jonathan Drew and Julian Van Winkle

The creation of the Pappy Van Winkle Tradition has a special significance to the Drew Estate Family, as the blend has a story behind it that reads like craft folklore, taking cigar aficionados back to the days before Willy Herrera became the Master Blender of Drew Estate. From Little Havana, Willy Herrera notes “I remember it like yesterday. In 2010 when JD and I talked about me joining Drew Estate, we flew down to La Gran Fabrica to test my blending style in two days of non-stop creating. I ultimately produced 3 blends, one of which eventually became the Herrera Estelí. When I heard the news that Julian Van Winkle had selected one of my three original blends from my first trip to Nicaragua, I was humbled to say the least.”

The Pappy Van Winkle Tradition will begin shipping in October in coordination with when Old Rip Van Winkle releases their annual batch of the highly sought after Bourbon and Rye.

About Van Winkle Bourbon: 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. He was a traveling salesman for the W.L. Weller and Sons wholesale house in Louisville. Pappy and a friend, Alex Farnsley, eventually bought the wholesale house and also partnered with Mr. A. Ph. Stitzel on the purchase of Mr. Sitzel’s distillery. The three of them merged the two companies and became the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. 

In May of 1935 at the age of 61, Pappy opened the newly completed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in South Louisville. Its prominent brands were W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still. Pappy 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 sold to Norton Simon, Inc. Later, United Distillers, who eventually ended up with the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, sold off all of the original labels around 1999. 

After selling the distillery, Julian Jr. resurrected a pre-Prohibition label, the only one to which the Van Winkles kept the rights, called 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. Julian III has continued with the Van Winkle tradition of producing high-quality wheated bourbon. His son, Preston, joined the company in 2001 and the Van Winkles look to continue that tradition for generations to come. 

In 2002 the Van Winkles entered into a joint venture with Buffalo Trace Distillery in Franklin County, Frankfort, Ky. All of the Van Winkle’s whiskey production now takes place at Buffalo Trace Distillery under the same strict guidelines the family has always followed. For more information on the Van Winkle family of bourbon please visit www.oldripvanwinkle.com.