These days you pretty much need a golden ticket — like a bourbon-loving Charlie Bucket — to get your hands on a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. In fact, lotteries, raffles, and auctions offer some of the most direct ways that you can get a bottle of this famous bourbon in 2022. And if that’s your goal, you have a fun chance to nab a prime bottle right now.
Better yet: it’s for charity.
The Harrington Family Foundation — formed by former NFL quarterback and longtime friend to UPROXX Joey Harrington — launched a raffle this week for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year-Old Bourbon to help support local Portland, Oregon kids headed to college. And if you win the Pappy raffle, you’ll also get four bottles of the special Harrington Family Foundation Single Barrel Buffalo Trace Bourbon.
That’s where Uproxx (and yours truly) come in. Full disclosure, Uproxx and I helped Harrington set up and pick a barrel of Buffalo Trace Bourbon last April for fundraising purposes. Four bottles of the single barrel pick are part of the grand prize — that aforementioned bottle of 23-Year-Old Pappy — for the raffle and tickets are only $100.
Yes, you read that right. You can get one of the most sought-after bourbons in the world for only $100 (if you win) plus four bottles of Joey’s barrel pick to drink, savor, or cellar. Pretty incredible prospect for any bourbon lovers looking to support a good cause.
Below, I’m giving you my tasting notes on Joey’s single barrel pick. Since I helped pick the barrel, I can assure you that it’s a stellar and unique version of the classic bourbon from Buffalo Trace. If you’re looking for my review of Pappy Van Winkle 23, you can check that out right here.
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Buffalo Trace Bourbon Harrington Family Foundation Single Barrel Select
ABV: 45%
Average Price: Raffle Only
The Whiskey:
This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. The rest, as they say, is history — especially since this has become a touchstone bourbon for the brand.
Tasting Notes:
The whiskey’s nose is subtle and opens with a soft sense of an apple orchard on a rainy day (fitting for Portland!) with a hint of honey, blackberry pie filling, cinnamon and clove, and a light touch of vanilla with a whisper of old pine lurking in the background. The palate leans into the orchard fruits with plums, apricots, and pears mingling with creamed honey, vanilla waffles, and more of that blackberry pie filling with allspice, clove, and a pinch of orange zest. The finish has an applewood tobacco vibe with a touch more cinnamon and huckleberry next to a whisper of green fern and apple/pear/cinnamon tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a wholly unique version of Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Where the standard bottle’s nose is closer to citrus and leather on the nose, this leans into fruit orchards and dark berries with a woody/forest-y edge. It’s very Pacific Northwest.
Overall, this is a subtle and fruit-forward neat pour that adds a level of creaminess with a rock or a few drops of water. It’s wonderful in a Manhattan or old fashioned, too, and a great example of how wildly a single barrel pick can diverge from the baseline BT expression.
How To Win The Bottles:
One winner will enjoy the grand prize of one 750ml bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskey (Bottle #M2127), and four 750 ml bottles of Harrington Family Foundation Single Barrel Select. That’s a five-bottle grand prize retail value of around $5,500. Raffle tickets are $100 each and are available online from November 6th to November 20th.
Only 1,500 tickets are available.
The winning raffle ticket will be drawn (digitally) on November 21 at 10 AM Pacific time.
