Virginia Lottery Under Way for Rare Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon

There's a bourbon boom and riding the wave is a rare whiskey called Pappy Van Winkle. The much-coveted liquor is released once a year in small quantities as part of the "antique collection" of Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky.

Virginia ABC will distribute three Pappy Van Winkle products via online lottery this year, for your opportunity to purchase the products, as follows:

• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15-Year Bourbon: The lottery opened Thursday and you can enter until Saturday at 9 a.m. (You can enter the lottery here.)
• Van Winkle Special Reserve 12-Year Bourbon: Lottery will begin next Thursday, Dec. 8.
• Old Rip Van Winkle 10-Year Bourbon: Lottery will begin Dec. 15.

Virginia ABC anticipate significant website traffic during the period that the lottery for Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 Year remains open. Due to this, Virginia ABC is extending the lottery entry period to 48 hours.

If you didn't enter the lottery on Thursday, Virginia ABC says not to worry, there is no benefit to signing up early. Winners will be selected in a random drawing from all entries accepted during the entry period. All entries will have an equal chance of winning an opportunity to purchase a bottle; duplicate entries will be deleted.

If you win, you have the honor of purchasing a bottle of the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15-Year Bourbon for $99.99.

The hard-to-get bourbon is named for Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr. Pappy was the first in four generations of Van Winkle bourbon-making. Here's more about Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year:

Expressly produced according to the exclusive Van Winkle family wheated-recipe and specially selected from barrels in the heart of the aging warehouses, this bourbon remained undisturbed for 15 years to age in deep-charred heavy oak untouched by human hands, unhurried by time.

TASTING NOTES: An elegant and sweet aroma with caramel corn and vanilla. Features big flavor of leather, oak and complex fruitiness. Finishes smooth with notes of spice and oak tannins.

Photo: Craiglduncan, Wikimedia Commons