PLCB holding lottery to sell off almost 2,000 bottles of coveted Van Winkle whiskey

Pennsylvania residents will have the opportunity to get their hands on some of the world's finest bourbon and rye whiskey.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has opened up a limited-release lottery to auction off almost 2,000 bottles of Van Winkle bourbon and rye whiskey, state liquor officials announced this week.

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Using recipes dating back four generations, the highly sought-after whiskeys have been produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky since 2002, according to the PLCB. 

The 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, which is valued at $249.99 per bottle, scored a 99 out of 100 at the 1998 World Spirits Championship, according to Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Lottery winners will have the chance to purchase one of 1,931 bottles of Van Winkle whiskey. Six separate drawings will be conducted for each of the whiskeys. 

Auction participants can opt into as many as they wish, but purchases are limited to one bottle per participant. Participants cannot win multiple drawings.

The lottery is only open to Pennsylvania residents and liquor licensees ages 21 and older, who have until 5 p.m. on Friday to register here. 

Participants must have an active Fine Wine and Good Spirits account and billing information on file in order to enter the lottery.

Lottery winners must pick up their bottles with valid photo identifications at a Fine Wine and Good Spirits store. Reselling any winning products is strictly prohibited.

The lottery, which will be monitored by a third party service, will select winners at random by using a computer program.

Drawings will be conducted next week, and all entries will be notified via email if they won by the end of January. Below is the order in which the drawings will be held.

•Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Straight Bourbon 23 Year Old 95.6 Proof 2020 Release, $399.99 each – 18 bottles for residents, five bottles for licensees

•Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Straight Bourbon 20 Year Old 90.4 Proof 2020 Release, $249.99 each – 54 bottles for residents, 17 bottles for licensees

•Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Straight Bourbon 15 Year Old 107 Proof 2020 Release, $149.99 each – 134 bottles for residents, 44 bottles for licensees

•Van Winkle Family Reserve Straight Rye Whiskey 13 Year Old 95.6 Proof 2020 Release, $159.99 each – 134 bottles for residents, 44 bottles for licensees

•Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Straight Bourbon 10 Year Old 107 Proof 2020 Release, $89.99 each – 370 bottles for residents, 123 bottles for licensees

•Van Winkle Special Reserve Straight Bourbon 12 Year Old 90.4 Proof 2020 Release, $99.99 each – 741 bottles for residents, 247 bottles for licensees

The purpose of limited-release lotteries is to more equally distribute products that are high in demand but limited in availability to Pennsylvania residents and licensees, according to the PLCB.

The previous limited-release lottery, which was conducted this past November, made almost 800 bottles of popular whiskey labels available for purchase to Pennsylvania residents and licensees.

The PLCB held its first-ever Rare Vintage and Special Auction in 2019, when the state liquor board auctioned off two bottles of decades-old scotch whiskey from Macallan's Fine and Rare Series. The minimum bids for both bottles started at $9,000 and $25,000, respectively.