Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 2025

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey — 95.6 Proof (2025 Release)

Price

$999.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: 13 Years | Region: Frankfort, Kentucky, USA | Proof: 95.6 Proof

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

95.6

Proof

47.8%

ABV

750 mL

Format

13 Yrs

Age Statement

Rye

The Elemental Distinction

The lone rye in the Van Winkle collection; the other five 2025 releases are wheated bourbons.

13-year age statement, bottled at 95.6 proof (47.8% ABV), the strength it shares with Pappy Van Winkle 23.

A Kentucky straight rye: by federal rule at least 51% rye in the mash, aged in new charred oak.

Released each year beside the bourbons; skipped in 2017 over a single-year gap in barrel inventory and back from 2018 as Buffalo Trace-distilled rye.

Bottled by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery at Buffalo Trace, Frankfort; one of six 2025 Van Winkle releases; 750 mL.

Nº 02

Old Rip Van Winkle & Buffalo Trace Heritage

Frankfort Straight Rye Maturation

Distilled at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, under the joint partnership with the Van Winkle family established in 2002. Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year stands as a pioneer of ultra-aged American rye, preserving Pappy Van Winkle's private stock traditions matured for thirteen full years in new charred oak.

Nº 03

Craftsmanship & Cask Architecture

13-Year Rye Aging & Historic Tanked Lineage

High-Rye Recipe

Spicy Grain Foundation

Built on a traditional high-rye mash bill, yielding white pepper, chestnut, cocoa, and dried stone fruit complexity.

13-Year Oak Maturation

Frankfort Rickhouse Aging

Matured for 13 full years in new charred American oak in Buffalo Trace's central brick warehouses for soft, balanced wood character.

95.6 Proof Bottling

Pappy 23 Shared Strength

Bottled at 47.8% ABV (95.6 proof), sharing its exact bottling strength with the flagship Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year-Old.

Historic Tanked Lineage

Medley & Bernheim Sourcing

Traces from early Medley sourcing through 2004 Bernheim tanked stocks to modern Buffalo Trace distillation since 2018.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distillery Tasting Notes

Sensory Profile

Nose: Roasted chestnut, vanilla and spice, deepened by cherry, stone fruit and warm oak.
Palate: Cocoa, white pepper and vanilla against cherry and ripe stone fruit, with oak and cedar underneath.
Finish: Long and warm: caramel, spice and dry oak.

Strategic Position

The rye stands outside the bourbon ladder but ships with it each fall. Its closest family kin is the 107-proof Pappy 15 it is released alongside; its closest rye kin from the same distillery is the barrel-proof 2025 Thomas H. Handy. Both sit in Midnight Whiskey's rye and bourbon vault.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault Provenance

→

Van Winkle Lineup Rye Outlier

Represents the single rye expression in the annual Van Winkle release, revered for its unique historical lineage.

→

Rye Whiskey Vault Context

Catalogued within the primary Whiskey Collection and The Vault at Midnight Whiskey.

Collector IndexVW RYE 13Y 95.6P

Distillery: Buffalo Trace / Old Rip Van Winkle
Series Position: Van Winkle Collection Lone Rye
Category: Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Proof / ABV: 95.6 Proof (47.8% ABV)
Age Statement: 13 Years
Format: 750 mL

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
BRAND / PRODUCER	Old Rip Van Winkle; Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year
DISTILLED & BOTTLED	Buffalo Trace Distillery (Sazerac), Frankfort, Kentucky
CATEGORY	Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
AGE STATEMENT	13 Years
PROOF / ABV	95.6 Proof / 47.8% ABV
MASH BILL	Rye, Corn, Malted Barley
BARREL SELECTION	Buffalo Trace Central Brick Rickhouses; New Charred Oak
HISTORICAL DEBUT	Late 1990s (Sourced Medley / Bernheim; BT Distillate since 2018)
REGION	Frankfort, Kentucky, USA
FORMAT	750 mL
SKU	089319123716

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Production Methodology

As a Kentucky straight rye the mash is at least 51% rye, aged in new charred oak. The whiskey's lineage runs: sourced Medley rye for the earliest releases, a 2004 blend with Old Bernheim rye that was tanked in stainless steel to halt aging, and, after the tanked stock ran out with the 2016 bottling and a 2017 release was skipped for want of thirteen-year barrels, Buffalo Trace-distilled rye from 2018 onward. The 2025 release is aged thirteen years in new charred oak and bottled at 95.6 proof by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery at Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky, where the collection's bourbons are also made.

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What proof is the 2025 Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye?

The 2025 Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year is bottled at 95.6 proof (47.8% ABV), the same strength as Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year. It is a 13-year Kentucky straight rye whiskey bottled by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, and the only rye in the six-bottle Van Winkle collection released in September 2025.

Is Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye really 13 years old?

The 2025 Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye carries a 13-year age statement and is Buffalo Trace-distilled rye aged that long. Earlier bottlings were older than their label: from 2004 to 2016 the whiskey came from Medley and Old Bernheim rye that had been tanked in 2004 to stop aging. Buffalo Trace skipped the 2017 release because its barrels were only twelve years old, and the rye returned in 2018 as a 13-year Buffalo Trace whiskey.

Is there a Pappy Van Winkle rye?

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year is the only rye whiskey in the Van Winkle collection, and it does not carry the Pappy Van Winkle name, which appears only on the 15, 20 and 23 Year wheated bourbons. It is bottled at 95.6 proof by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery at Buffalo Trace Distillery and released each year alongside the Van Winkle bourbons; the nickname Pappy Rye is informal.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Buffalo Trace / Old Rip Van Winkle · Family Reserve Rye 13 Year (2025 Release)

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Van Winkle

The Elemental Distinction

Old Rip Van Winkle & Buffalo Trace Heritage