Buffalo Trace is Auctioning Off a Barrel of Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon
Are you a Pappy Van Winkle fan? If you are, you’ve certainly experienced the joy of reading the news about Buffalo Trace’s most coveted collection of bourbon arriving every fall, and more than likely suffered the defeat of not actually being able to find a bottle. Well, how about an entire barrel, because Buffalo Trace parent company Sazerac just announced that it is auctioning off a single cask of Pappy Van Winkle 15 today—and all proceeds will go to help the victims of the L.A. wildfires.
Originally the brand claimed that this is the first time ever that a single barrel of Pappy has been made available to purchase, but later clarified that it’s the first time since Sazerac’s partnership with the Van Winkle family began in the early 2000s (presumably referring to whiskey produced at Buffalo Trace after then). A quick Google search reveals that previous Pappy single barrel expressions have been for sale over the years, and Aaron Goldfarb’s excellent piece for Vinepair documents single barrel sales that date back to the mid-1980s (bottles priced at $20 didn’t move many units back then, kind of hard to believe now) all the way into the early 2000s.
Whatever the case may be, the point is that this auction has a very good cause behind it—to help raise money for the thousands of people affected by the massive L.A. wildfires who have lost their homes and belongings, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to World Central Kitchen and Another Round Another Rally.
The Sazerac California Wildfire Relief Fundraiser begins at noon today and will last through 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23. The lead auction item is that single barrel of Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old, which some consider to be the premiere member of the lineup due to its mid-range age statement. Bidding starts at $10,000 and you can bid in increments of $1,000 as many times as you’d like. According to the rules, the winner will receive “a monetary prize equal to the value of the lot,” which you can use to purchase the bottles that come from the barrel (about 125) as well as the empty barrel itself (due to regulations, you can’t actually win the booze itself). There are two other items up for auction: an entire Pappy Van Winkle collection that includes all the age statements from 10 to 23 years, as well as the 13-year-old rye whiskey, and a bottle of the incredibly rare and expensive Eagle Rare 25. For both of these auctions, you can bid in increments of $50 donations, and you’ll receive a monetary prize to purchase the bottles.
You can start bidding now at the Sazerac auction website. The highest bidder will win the single barrel, but for the bottles there will be a random drawing the week of March 3 after which the winner will be notified by phone and email. Good luck to those of you putting some money down because these are some pretty choice prizes, and even if you don’t win your donations will be greatly appreciated by the people of Los Angeles.
