What Whiskeys and Bourbons are involved in the Total Wine & More Priority Access Rare Whiskey Offering?

All of the Whiskeys and Bourbons in this offering are limited-release or small batch items that are extremely rare and hard to find. The main Whiskeys featured in this offering are from either the Van Winkle Collection or the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. If you’re looking for your opportunity to obtain one of the rarest Bourbons on the planet, including Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon, then you’re going to need to be a Grand Reserve customer and follow the instructions above to sign up.

What is a Grand Reserve customer/member? Head to our loyalty program webpage to learn more!

What is Pappy Van Winkle?

The Van Winkle Collection is comprised of six (6) very rare, limited-edition Whiskeys. Each Whiskey takes generations of knowledge transfer and experience for the distillers to learn how to produce properly. Not only are the Pappy Bourbons and Whiskeys extremely rare due to production quantities, but they are also some of the most highly-acclaimed products in the Bourbon industry, achieving cult status with the fans of Bourbon.

The Van Winkle Collection of Whiskeys and Bourbons are produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery as of 2002, and all the Whiskeys and Bourbons are all produced in Kentucky.

The Van Winkle Bourbon collection consists of:

• Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year
• Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year
• Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year
• Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year
• Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year

Was Pappy Van Winkle a person?

The original "Pappy", Julian P. "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr., was indeed a person, and whom many of the Van Winkle Bourbons are named after. The only Bourbon not named after Pappy is the Old Rip Van Winkle Bourbon, which was brought back by Pappy’s son, Julian Jr.

"Pappy" was originally a salesman for the W.L. Weller and Sons company before he and a friend purchased the A. Ph. Stizel Distillery. They later merged their distillery with W.L. Weller and Sons, which created the Stizel-Weller Distillery in 1935 where all the Van Winkle Bourbons were produced and made famous at the time. Generations later, the Van Winkles are still distilling these highly-acclaimed Bourbons at Buffalo Trace Distillery.

You can learn all about the history of Pappy Van Winkle over at the Buffalo Trace Distillery website.

What is the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection?

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, or commonly referred to as the BTAC in forums and online articles, is a collection of five (5) rare limited-release Whiskeys from the  Buffalo Trace Distillery of varying ages, recipes and proofs. These items tend to appear only once a year during this Priority Access offering. The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection of Bourbons and rye Whiskeys has received acclaimed from many different sources over the years, helping it achieve a cult status with Bourbon fans. Thus, the collectors are constantly on lookout for the BTAC Bourbons and bottles.

The BTAC is comprised of:

• Eagle Rare 17 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Sazerac 18 Year Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
• Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey (also known as "Handy")
• William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Are all the bottles in the Van Winkle Collection and BTAC available in every state?

No. Due to the three-tier system, quantities and availability of these products will vary by state.