Drinks
Don't Mention That Pricey Rare Bourbon About to Hit Stores
- Retailers don’t know how many bottles they’ll get or the cost
- Even top customers usually must participate in a lottery
Few companies, even among rare luxury brands, actively spurn promoting their products, but here’s one: the makers of Pappy Van Winkle.
The scarce and pricey bourbon, made in Frankfort, Kentucky, by the Sazerac Co.’s Buffalo Trace Distillery, let wholesalers know this week how many bottles they could expect to receive to distribute to select retailers later this fall. The spirit, which typically sells in the hundreds of dollars for the current year and as much as the thousands for vintage bottles, is so scarce some liquor stores sell it via a lottery system.