Hundreds Line Up At Liquor Stores For Pappy Van Winkle Whiskey

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Southerners are known for their love for bourbon whiskey. Some of the best whiskey in the world is distilled in the South, and southerners are proud of that heritage. But this Monday is not just an ordinary day for bourbon drinkers in Alabama. This is the day when hundreds of customers line up outside liquor stores to hopefully get their hands on a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle - a once-a-year release that has these customers skipping work, sitting outside an ABC for hours and spending a lot more money than they normally would for a bottle of whiskey.

Pappy Van Winkle is from the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky. And stores in some states have resorted to a lottery just to decide who gets to buy a bottle during the once-yearly release. And, by the time the bourbon does reach consumers, the recommended retail price of $50 to $250 has gone up to anywhere between $700 and $3,000. But why? What makes this whiskey so special? Is it the superior taste? Is it the aging? Or, is it more of a marketing scheme by the company?

Birmingham resident Clair McLafferty, author of The Classic & Craft Cocktail Recipe Book: The Definitive Guide to Mixing Perfect Cocktails from Aviation to Zombie, and an expert on spirits, said the marketing of the bourbon is more special than the whiskey itself.

"The production of it is limited, and the marketing is very, very well done," McLafferty said. "It's good whiskey, but it's not the best out there, especially for the price." Some people, McLafferty said, are not buying it to drink, however.

"Many of the people in line are from out of state, and are buying it to resell it, which is technically illegal, and is definitely illegal if it's sold over state lines," she said.

Photo of customers lined up outside the ABC store in Mountain Brook by Michael Seale