World Whiskey Society’s New 20-Year-Old Bottle Is Aiming for Pappy Van Winkle’s Crown
If you think older Pappy Van Winkle age statement bottles are expensive . . . well, that’s because they are. But at least their suggested retails prices are relatively low, even though you will literally never see one for sale in the $130 to $450 range at which this year’s collection was priced. That’s nothing compared to the $1,500 that this new release from World Whiskey Society is going for, and it even bears a similar name to Pappy—Family Reserve.
World Whiskey Society was founded in 2020, not as a distillery but as a non-distilling producer that sources and procures various whiskeys, ranging from its Classic Collection to Japanese single malts to a rare Chinese whisky to one of the highest proof hazmat bottles you can currently find. The new Family Reserve (again, that name is also used by the Pappy Van Winkle lineup) is a 20-year-old whiskey bottled at cask strength that was sourced from an undisclosed Kentucky distillery. The mashbill is 74 percent corn, 18 percent rye, and 8 percent malted barley, which could point to distilleries like Heaven Hill or Barton, but that is purely speculation. Even with that mashbill, this release is referred to as a whiskey and not a bourbon in the marketing materials, so it seems that it may not have been aged entirely in new charred oak barrels as is required by law to be considered bourbon.
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Family Reserve is being released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of World Whiskey Society importer Aiko Brands, which was founded by Ukrainian immigrant Igor Kogan. His children, Alex and Irina Kogan, run World Whiskey Society, and consider this whiskey a tribute to their father’s legacy.
“This special Family Reserve release [was] inspired by his vision to create something timeless and beautiful–something that brings people together to celebrate life’s most precious moments,” they said in a statement. “This release is more than just whiskey; it’s a story of transformation, growth, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.”
And that high price tag has a good purpose—according to the brand, 100 percent of the proceeds will go to fund the Lustgarten Foundation, an organization devoted to fighting pancreatic cancer.
There are not a whole lot of details available about the specifics of Family Reserve other than the mashbill—there are no tasting notes, the ABV is not revealed, and it’s not clear exactly how many bottles are available. But if you’d like to drop some cash on a mysterious new whiskey that rivals Pappy in terms of age and price, you can find it for sale at the World Whiskey Society website now.
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