I’m in a Total Wine lottery for either a Blanton’s or a Pappy’s (not the 23). Will find out in Feb. I don’t drink bourbon but want to acquire for guests. My reliables that are easy to get are Bulleit 10yr. and Yellowstone 93.
I’d love to win one and pay retail. I live in a state that allows liquor stores to sell it for whatever they want and never put it out. I’ve, over the years had three bottles of the ten year old “Old Rip Van Winkle”, dropped an unopened one of them and never got a sip. I’ve had a deal in the works for a few years to trade some of my artwork for a custom pool cue, $1,000 cash and a 23 year old bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. I need to complete the piece my friend wants. BTW I’m a blacksmith and that’s my art, I make custom bottle openers for a living.
You can find the Pappy 23y/o on the market for around $4500 right now. That’s a bargain compared to what it was 10 years ago but still overpriced by quite a bit.
If you really want to try it then take a trip to Louisville and look around until you can find it by the glass in a bar. I spent $80 a shot and it was a damned fine drink but there is plenty of other stuff that’s also quite good for quite a bit less.